AatC Summer Story
by BubblyM
Summary: It's the summer between middle and high school and everything is about to change for the chipmunks! Not your normal chipmunks/chipettes fanfic! Alvin/Brittney Theodore/Eleanor Simon/Jeanette
1. Chapter 1

-Alvin-  
I guess it all started on a hot, humid day sometime in July.  
But of course, during summertime nobody really knows the difference between June and July, Tuesday and Wednesday.  
But I think it was a Tuesday.  
Whatever, it doesn't make all that much of a difference anyways.  
It was one of those days where it's so humid your hair curls up the moment you walk outside, when your shoes seem to stick to the pavement, when it looks like everything less than a yard off the ground is wavy and hazy.  
Of course, I slept in because I'm a teenager (fourteen! Yeah yeah) and that's what teenagers do. Plus, you know, it's summer, who cares?  
All the covers were flung off my bed and my hair was sticking to my forehead.  
So I laid there sweating and making smacking noises with my mouth because I could taste that gross morning breath until I heard a yell up the stairs, a yell that is forever imprinted in my brain.  
"AALLLLLLVIINNNNNN!"  
"DAAAVE!" I wanted to yell back, but why get in more trouble than necessary? I was too lazy to be a smartass.  
So I got up and stretched and made my way down the stairs.  
On my way, I nearly knocked over Simon, who hasn't really talked to me for a week now- so why break the silence by saying sorry? Really.  
Not like I even thought the words. Not like I even felt the first syllable start to form at the back of my throat before I remembered I hated him this week, it just didn't happen. It just wasn't there.  
So I shoved past Simon, ignoring the feeling as I walked away that he was doing his very best to burn holes in the back of my head with nothing but his eyes.  
Dave was standing in the kitchen holding up two halves of a plate I had broken the night before and taped together with duct tape in an attempt to hide it. I had also crammed it in the dishwasher, which had burn marks all over it.  
"It. Caught. On. Fire," Dave hisses.  
"Well, it seemed like a good idea last night," I said, grabbing a granola bar out of the pantry.  
"Yeah, well, it doesn't seem like one now," He replies, putting them in the trash can and then turning to face me with that Dave look on his face that means I did something bad.  
(Hey! He did the exact same thing to something and fixed it with duct tape!)  
"You used duct tape on something last week and said it fixed everything!" I said defensively, waving my granola bar around.  
"Okay, look. A), that was a handlebar on Theodore's bike and that's different than a plate, and B), that was only until Simon could get around to fixing it. Okay?"  
"Still."  
"Still what? Alvin, really "  
I interrupted him. "Okay, okay, I'm going to the pool. Just stop lecturing me."  
"Fine, but take someone with you, I don't want you going alone."  
"Where's Theodore?"  
"Date."  
"Eleanor. Jee-ash." I paused. "Holy crap! Do I have to take Simon?" Does he know what that could do to my rep?  
Simon pokes his head in like this is actually his business (which it is NOT) and corrects, "No, actually, I have to go to work. I don't sit around the house all day, unlike some people."  
I'm pretty sure you can't really have a job if you can't drive (isn't that like, child labor?), but he has some dorky friend whose dorky dad owns the library and so he managed to get a dorky job there. Which I think is dumb because all he has to do is stand around all day and breathe and scan books and read and he still gets paid.  
"Sorry. I wouldn't want to interrupt your standing around behind a desk and getting paid," I hissed, crossing my arms.  
Simon wrinkles his nose at me and says, "Oh, puh-leeze, you are just mad because nobody in their right mind would ever hire you."  
"I don't need a job."  
"You just don't want to work. Lazy."  
"I'm not lazy, I'm normal. Unlike you. Not all of us are freaks."  
Simon just scoffs and rolls his eyes and struts off.  
"Actually, now that I think about it, maybe you should get a summer job." Dave remarks from behind his paper.  
(Yeah. I'll get right on that. And then pigs. Will sprout wings. And fly. Whatever.)  
"Not today! I'm going to the pool."  
"Take one of the girls with you then."  
"Yeah right. Eleanor's on a date with Theodore, Jeanette hangs on Simon like a coat or a dishrag or something, and I am NOT taking Brittany to the pool so she can embarrass the living hell out of me."  
"Didn't you two call a truce?"  
"Yeah, but she can break it whenever, Dave. This is Brittany we are talking about here."  
"I think Brittany is okay."  
I sighed, and started making my way toward the door. "You don't know her like I do."  
So, I walked over to Brittany's house because well, he told me to bring someone and I wouldn't mind seeing Brittany in her swimsuit.  
I knocked on the door, and Jeanette quickly answered it, looking excited. When she saw me, her face dropped.  
"Oh. Hi, Alvin," she said, sighing.  
"Expecting Simon?" I asked. I swear, Jeanette practically breathes Simon. It's scary.  
She nodded.  
"Well, he has to work today, you know," I said, rolling my eyes.  
"I know. But still " she looked into the distance dreamily for a second. I waved my hand in front of her face, and she looked back at me. "Oh! So, um, do you want Brittany?"  
I nodded.  
"All the boys do," Jeanette rolled her eyes, and then turned around and yelled up the stairs, "Brittany!"  
Brittany walked groggily down the stairs. Her hair was messy, and she was still wearing her PJ's. "What?" then she saw me, and looked away. "Please tell me those are swim shorts. Please."  
"No, Brittany, he's come to see you in his boxers," Jeanette responded sarcastically.  
I ignored the perverted thoughts that somehow slipped into my head with that sentence. When Brittany made eye contact with me again, I leaned on the doorframe. "So, Brittany. Do you wanna go to the pool with me?"  
("Like a date," a little voice added in my head. But that little voice was quickly silenced by the other little voices probably throwing bricks at it.)  
Brittany looked surprised for a second, then rolled her eyes and said, "Aww, will Dave not let wittle Alvin go to da pool on his owwwnnn?" she said in a funny voice.  
I blushed. "Look, if you wanna come shut up and get your swimsuit on, okay?"

-Brittany-  
I was surprised when he didn't have a comeback. So I just turned around and went upstairs. I got my swimsuit on and put on some mascara and lip gloss.  
"Why does he suddenly care if I come or not? Usually he just tells Dave he took someone and goes by himself. What's wrong with him?" I asked myself, looking in the mirror at my sparkly pink bikini.  
I SO could tell this would end terribly. But I guess I just wanted to go, for some bizarre reason.  
Okay, so I was really excited about getting to spend time with him. I think I might kind of have a cru-  
NO. NO I DON'T. OKAY?  
I did not write that. I did not even think it. Okay?  
He's a jerk. He really is. I really want to hurt him sometimes. But not right now. I kind of kind of like him.  
But I can't. Because he doesn't like me like that.  
I ran back downstairs.  
"Let's go, "He said, after taking a moment to register the bikini.

-Alvin-  
Whoa. Brittany in a bikini. Whoooooaaaaa.  
"Uh, let's go," I said. Brittany stepped outside, and started walking down the driveway. I turned around and said to Jeanette, "Don't worry, I'll tell Simon to call you later, okay?"  
I'm not sure if I meant it, but I suppose it doesn't really matter because I could tell it made her day.  
Then I caught up with Brittany, and we walked down to the pool.

-Jeanette-  
I smiled after Alvin, and then shut the door.  
He's a nice guy, I think. I mean, lately he's been pretty nice.  
I sat down on the couch, and sighed. Simon was at work, with Michelle, who used to be my friend. Michelle, who has a crush on Simon almost as big as her head. You know, the only reason he got that job is because her dad is really important at the library, and Michelle wanted him away from me all summer (5 days a week, and occasionally Saturdays).  
I pulled out my phone, feeling miserable. Michelle was at the library with Simon all to herself. I needed. To talk. To him. Now.  
I dialed 1 and then pressed Send. (Yeah, he's number one on my speed dial.)

-Simon-  
I sighed, and turned another page of my book. There is NOBODY in the library during the summer. Except the kids whose mothers enroll them in the story time program, and a few people who I know from school. And the occasional group of little 6-through-11-year-olds from the downtown daytime summer care center.  
My cell phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I nearly fell out of my chair.  
It was Jeanette. I didn't even have to check. I just knew.  
I got up, and headed for the bathroom.  
"Simon, where are you going?" Mr. Samuels, the head librarian and Michelle's dad, asked.  
"Uh- gotta pee," I said, then brushed past him.  
She was calling me. At work. I have told her at least 73 times not to call me at work. I'm not even supposed to have my phone. (Like one measly ringtone will disturb the readers, even though we constantly have 6-year-olds running around? Yeah, whatever.)  
I walked into the bathroom and hid in a stall. I answered my phone, whispering as quiet as possible:  
"How many times have I told you not to call me at work. I mean, I'm pleased to be speaking to you, but really, Jeanette?"  
"I wanted to talk to you," she whines on the other end. "I have cabin fever."

-Jeanette-  
Did I really have cabin fever? Psh. No. I could stay cooped up in the house for months with my books and never get tired of it.  
I guess Simon knew me well enough to figure that out, because the only response I got out of him was a quiet, sarcastic sounding, "Mmm-hmm."  
"Really," I said. "For real."  
"You're an awful liar."  
"Am not!"  
"Are too."  
"When are you off work?"  
"You KNOW when I'm off work. I've only told you a thousand times."  
"I forgot." No, I hadn't. I just wanted to hear it again to make sure I only had six more hours of my silent, empty house without him.  
His exasperated sigh sounded like static over the phone, but I knew him well enough to recognize it as a sigh. "I get off at six."  
"Just six more hours!"

-Simon-  
Just six more hours. Six more unending hours. I mean, not that I don't love the library, but it's the same thing every day- hardly anybody is ever there because this town is filled with uncultured imbeciles, so I just sit behind the desk and pretend to listen to Michelle all day.  
I don't know why that girl talks to me so much anyway.  
"Simon? Simon, are you there?"  
"Uh yeah. Sorry. I just kind of zoned out."  
She giggled (although over the poor connection of the phone, it sounded more like a gurgle) and said, "Happens to me all the time."  
My phone suddenly beeped, and I pulled it off of my ear to check the text. It was Michelle, asking where I was. "I have to get back to work, Jeanette. I'm sorry. Bye."  
I heard her say "bye", and hung up the phone.

-Jeanette-  
"Bye," I said, and then paused. I bit my lip, and whispered, "I love you."


	2. Chapter 2

-Jeanette-  
After I hung up the phone, I resigned myself to a game of Solitaire, a bag of popcorn, and my new DVD of Sense and Sensibility that Simon had gotten me for my birthday. After ten games of Solitaire (I lost to myself every time), I gave up and started putting the cards in order until i had the whole deck set out on the floor.  
"Now," I muttered to myself, "Why can't I organize everything like this?"  
Just then, Eleanor came down the stairs, rubbing the back of her neck and yawning. "Hey, Jeanette," she said in a tired voice. "Good morning."  
"More like afternoon," I replied, motioning to the clock and stacking up the cards to put them up. "Why did you sleep so late?"  
Eleanor walked into the living room, and looked at the clock. "Hm?" Then she saw the time. Her eyes grew wide, and she jumped and knocked over my stack of cards. "OH MY GOD."  
"Gosh," I corrected. "What's wrong?"  
"Theodore! Oh my god!"  
"Gosh. What about him?"  
"I'm late!" she yelled, "Oh my god! He's been waiting there for an hour!" With that, she ran up the stairs, cursing under her breath, "Shit shit shit! Oh my GOD..."  
"Gosh," I corrected in a loud voice.  
"SHUT UP, JEANETTE!" she yelled upstairs.

-Theodore-  
I glanced at the picnic basket next to me, and my stomach growled.  
"No," I told myself again, "I'm going to share it with Ellie when she gets here." I glanced at my phone, and added, "If she gets here."  
I had been waiting for an hour. An hour! An hour in the park under the hot sun, with that tasty-smelling picnic basket i had made next to me. I was so hungry, I could eat a horse. (Not really, of course, although I've heard they taste like chicken. Doesn't all meat, though? Kind of?)  
But it would all be worth it once she got here. We would sit on the blanket and talk and eat and kiss and... my stomach growled again. I moaned, and gave in, reaching over and picking up the basket. First I ate my sandwich, then hers, and the chips, and I nibbled on the celery, until I remembered the brownies. So I ate those.  
There was still lots of food left. That satisfied me, so I decided to implement some self-control and stop eating.  
A dude with an ice-cream cart came by. I wiped sweat off of my forehead, and thought about how nice it would be if i had some cold ice-cream... mmm...  
In seconds, i was up, jogging after the guy (he was moving pretty fast). After ten minutes of chasing him, and then ten more minutes of waiting in line, i finally came back to the bench. i was stunned by what i found.  
My basket was gone.  
At first I thought maybe it was the wrong bench, but no, there was the blanket, right where I had left it.  
At first I was sad, then hurt, and then kind of pissed off. "Who the hell steals a picnic basket?" I said out loud, angrily plopping down on the bench.

-Eleanor-  
I ran all the way to the park, literally shoving through crowds. When I came to the park, i found Theodore sitting on the bench, our bench, looking very upset.  
"Oh no," I thought, "Look what I've done."  
I walked slowly over to him, and sat tenatively on the bench. "Theodore?"  
He turned, saw me, and dropped his ice-cream. "Eleanor! Where were you?"  
Sleeping? Could I say that? That's not a very good reason... "I was... working..." I replied slowly.  
"Working?" he asked.  
"Uh, yeah... on... Miss Miller's car... Yeah." I thought i sounded shaky, but I guess he believed me, because he pulled me into a hug.  
"I missed you!" he whispered.  
I hugged him back, and smelled his t-shirt... oh, he smelled so good... like chocolate brownies. Which reminded me... where was our picnic basket?  
"Theodore, what happened to our food?" I asked, pulling away.  
He laughed, and said, "That doesn't matter."  
And with that, he pulled me in and planted one on me. We kissed for a little bit. Then i pulled away again, and said, "Really, Theodore. I'm hungry."  
He sighed, and slumped. "Somebody stole it."  
I didn't beleive him. "Oh, really?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. Tweaking his nose, I said, "Or did somebody just get a little hungry?"  
He giggled and replied, "No, really. Somebody stole it."  
I tickled him. "I don't beleive you!"  
"Somebody took it!"  
"I still don't beleive you!"  
"Ellie. Somebody took it. Really."  
I looked in his eyes, and could see he was being serious. My jaw dropped, and after a moment, i said, "What kind of a douche would do that?"

-Alvin-  
"Mm," I said, eating another chunk of fudge. "This is so good."  
Brittany laughed, and ate a spooful of pudding. "Theodore is going to be super pissed."  
I laughed, and shook my head, digging around in the picnic basket. "He'll be fine, please. What's he gonna do, sit on me?"  
She hit me on the shoulder, snickering, "That's so mean!"  
"Why are you suprised? You know me," I replied. I stopped walking, and pretended to draw a gun from a sling around my waist, drawling in a Southern accent, "The Meanest in the West!"  
She giggled, and hooked her arm in mine. "Yep!"  
Were we getting along? Weird. And i couldn't help but notice that whenever seh laughed, I would get these little tingles in my stomach... what was wrong with me?


	3. Chapter 3

-Brittany-  
We entered the pool, and I pulled down my pink-and-yellow fake Ray-Banz over my eyes, and pulled my lipgloss out of my purse.  
As I swept some over my lips, I glanced at Alvin, who was staring at me.  
"Stop staring, you creeper," I said, giggling. His cheeks flushed indignantly, and he began to say something, but I talked over him as we neared the pool. "Now, you get in the pool and play. I'm not here to babysit. I'm gonna go tan and talk to..." I glanced around the pool, and quickly picked out a tall blond hunk. "... him."  
I started to walk off.  
"No!"

-Alvin-  
She whipped around, and stared at me.  
Did I just do that?  
She tilted her sunglasses down so I could see her peircing, beautiful blue eyes. I had never noticed those eyes before. How could I have not noticed those eyes?  
"Excuse me?" she said quietly.  
"Uh... How could you go to the pool without getting in?" I said. I didn't have any clue what I was saying.  
She rolled her eyes, and put her sunglasses back on. "Uh-huh. I'm not seven anymore Alvin, even if you are."  
I smirked. "Oh come on, Brit, have a little fun."  
She walked away and set her stuff down on a bright chair nearby.  
I knew what I was going to do.

-Brittany-  
As soon as I set my stuff down, I felt arms hook around my waist and the place behind my knees. Next thing I knew, Alvin was holding me, cradling me like a baby, walking directly toward the pool.  
"ALVIN! You are such a CHILD! Put me DOWN. NOW!" I shouted, struggling, but he just laughed, spun around, and flung me into the pool. I went flying, screaming, waving my arms around.

-Alvin-  
So there she goes, screeching like a cat, meeting the water with a gargantuan splash that rivaled that of any I'd ever even done myself. I was laughing so, so hard... and then it happened.  
Her head came up out of the water, her hair plastered to her head. she swam to the shallow end.  
And when she stood up, I could have died.

-Brittany-  
I thought his eyes were going to fall out of his head.  
"What are you looking at?" I said, and looked down.  
My bikini top was gone. I flipped, covered myself, and spun around, looking for my top. I was immediately met by the face of the blond hunk, who was surrounded by his friends at the edge of the pool.  
He smirked, and held out my top. "Looking for this? What are you, a triple D?"  
I was so embarrassed and infuriated. His friends and all of the skanks around him were laughing. I felt tears brim up in my eyes. I climbed out of the pool and ran out of the gate to the first bathroom i could find. I slammed the door, and locked it. I slid down the wall, and sat on the ground, forcing back my burning, embarrassed tears.

-Alvin-  
I watched her go, then looked over at the guys. They were laughing, still holding the bikini top.  
I stood as tall as one can at my height, puffed up my chest, and walked over to them. I tapped the tall douchey blond one on the shoulder.  
He turned around. "Can I help you?"  
"Gimme the bikini."  
He laughed, and looked at his friends. "Why should I give you the bikini?"  
"Because it's not yours. And my friend needs it. So give me the goddamn bikini."  
He just laughed. "Oh, guys, his freind needs it." he leaned in a little bit. "Let me give you some advice. Stop being friends with skanks."  
I don't remember even thinking about it. I hauled back and punched him as hard as I could. He fell into the pool, and I grabbed the bikini top.  
I glanced at the girls who had joined in laughing at Brittany, and said, "You first."  
With that, i turned on my heel, got the purse and flip-flops off of the chair where she had left them, and headed after Brit.

-Brittany-  
I heard a knock on the door. "Go AWAY," I shouted, still sobbing.  
"Brit, it's me. It's Alvin. Now open up," a muffled voice said. "I have your bikini."  
I sighed. To beleive him or not to beleive him? "Mmm... I beleive him," I decided.  
I stood up, and slowly opened the door just enough to put my hand out. He put the bikini in my hand, and our fingers touched, which made my stomach twist.  
I put my bikini on, and glanced in the mirror, tears still rolling down my cheeks.  
"Can I come in?" he asked.  
"No."  
"Please."  
"No."  
"Please?"  
"No."  
"Please?"  
"Ugh. Fine."

-Alvin-  
I walked into the bathroom, and there she was, tears still trickling down her cheeks. When i entered the room, she almost immediately wiped them away. Brittney had never cried in front of me before. It felt weird.  
You know what? Brittany is so pretty when she cries.  
She looked in the mirror and fluffed her hair and said quietly, "You know what's funny?"  
"What?" I asked, wondering what she could possibly find funny about the current situation when only minutes ago, she was sobbing.  
(Women. God.)  
"Two things. One," she motioned to her boobs (because, you know, I only need more reasons to stare.) "He asked me if I was a triple D. I'm only a C."  
I flinched. "I'm so glad I know that about you."  
She giggled. "Yeah, i'm great like that. Also, second, the one time i go to the pool with you without any of our siblings, perhaps the most excruciatingly embarrassing thing that has ever happened EVER in the history of the world happens to me." At the end of that sentence, her smile flickered and a pained expression shadowed her face.  
"Well..." I paused. "It's really not that bad, Brit."  
She turned to me. "Alvin. Yes it is. Did you see him? Oh my gosh, he is a... a freaking sex god!"  
I shrugged. "He's not that great. He's a tool."  
She rolled those blue eyes. "This coming from Alvin Seville, perhaps the most toolish man i have ever met."  
"I am not toolish. I don't think that's even a word."  
"Well, I said it, so it must be," she replied cooly, turning back to the mirror.  
I rose my eyebrows. "Uh-huh."

-Brittney-  
We were quiet for a minute. I absentmindedly messed with my hair again, and then looked in the mirror at Alvin's bare chest... and my stomach seemed to spin. I slowly walked over to him, and pulled him into a hug. I didn't say thanks, but I think he got the message. For a few minutes we relished my silent thank-you. I couldn't help but notice that he smelled really good. We're talking some serious manly cologne here, not just some cheap Axe or whatever.

-Alvin-  
She smelled like chlorine. I love the smell of a pool. And oh my god, her body up against mine... my thoughts were racing, my heart was pounding. I wondered if she could feel my heart beating in my chest.  
I pulled away (why? I don't know) and asked, "Wanna go get some Fro-Yo?"  
She cracked up and stepped away. "You are such a moment-ruiner!"  
I faked a gasp and said, "Oh, were we having a moment? I didn't know." she laughed, and I continued, "Well, my stomach is about to have a moment with some Fro-Yo."  
"Do you have to call it that?" she said, rolling her eyes and picking up her stuff.  
"Yes."  
"You are such a dork!"

-Theodore-  
I walked into FroYoPalace (yes, it is really called that, and really spelled like that, with no spaces or anything), holding hands with Eleanor. We had sat around and made out on the park bench for a while before it just got too darn hot and we got too darn hungry. So, we went to the frozen yogurt place, because it's always over-air-conditioned (for reals, guys, it has got to be, like, forty degrees in that place) and... because, well, it's a frozen yogurt place. Is there a better place to be on a sweltering summer day?  
Well, besides an actual ICE CREAM place with actual ICE CREAM.  
"Eleanor... why can't we go to DQ?" I complained as we got in line.  
"Because, do you really want to walk all the way across town for an ice cream sundae that could give a horse a heart attack?" she responded.  
"Yes," i answered, pouting.  
"No. No you don't. Now, you better start looking at the menu and thinking about what you want."  
I sighed. "Frozen Yogurt is a sad, bland ripoff of ice cream."  
"It's good for you."  
"Frozen Yogurt is Ice Cream's ugly little sister."  
"You know what is Ice Cream's ugly little sister?" she pinched my lovehandles and said, "These."  
I squirmed. "Ellie!"

-Eleanor-  
He blushed when I pinched his lovehandles. Aww. Theodore, my little cupcake. i know he hates it when i do that. So i don't do it often. Only when he's least expecting it.  
"Oh, come on Theo, they're called LOVEhandles for a reason." I said, giggling and winking, as he tugged on the bottom of his t-shirt uncomfortably.  
"Why, because you love to pinch them? You know I hate that." he stuck his lip out and crossed his arms indignantly.  
"No. They're cute. Stop being like that."  
He sighed. "I'm sorry. I get moody when I'm hungry."  
I nodded, and said sarcastically, "You don't have to tell me that."  
He gave me a look, but returned his hand to mine. We stood in silence until we reached the cash register, where an extremely bored-looking twenty-something asked us what we wanted.  
"Strawberry Fro-Yo, please," I said, picking the healthiest thing on the menu. "I'm on a diet."  
"Thanks. Because I asked." Mr. Bored Twenty-Something said sarcastically, then turned to Theodore. "And you?"  
Theodore bit his lip, then said, "Uh, what has the most chocolate in it?"  
"That would be the big Kahuna," the bored guy replied in an extremely bored voice.  
"I'll take that."  
I gave him a look, and started to pull out my money. Theodore stopped me, and pulled out his wallet.  
"How much is that?" he asked.  
"20 dollars and 24 cents."  
Theodore winced, but pulled out the money anyway and handed it to the guy.  
"Your order will be here when your number is called. You are number 517."  
"Okay, thanks."  
We walked to an empty booth at the back.  
When we sat down, Theodore exclaimed, "Okay, their prices are ridiculous! Ten dollars and twelve cents each! Can you beleive that?"  
I shrugged. "It's dumb. But they can have prices like that. They're the only frozen yogurt place in town."  
"Their yogurt better be good, or I swear, I will make a complaint."  
"Yeah, I'm sure you will. Theodore the meek."  
He smirked and rolled his eyes. "Oh, who am i kidding?" he mumbled.  
"Well," I said, leaning on his shoulder and patting him on the belly, "It doesn't really matter what the price is, so long as we're together, right?"  
He smiled and put his arm around my shoulders, hugging me closer to him. "I guess I still love you..." he kissed me on the forehead, and said quietly, "Even if it does cost entirely too much to take you out."

-Theodore-  
She blushed and laughed, and then leaned in and we kissed for what seemed like a very long time. Nothing existed when we kissed. Just us. Just the fireworks that seemed to be going off in my head. Right as the kiss began to heat up, there were two voices that distracted me.  
"Oh my god! Why do they keep it so cold in here?"  
"I would offer you my jacket, except i'm not wearing a shirt. It's the thought that counts, I guess."  
Me and Eleanor both pulled away at the exact same time. We gave each other a bewildered look.  
"Peek into the next booth," I whispered.  
She shook her head. "No! You."  
"No!"  
"Both of us then."  
"Fine."  
Eleanor peeked over the booth first. Then i looked in too. And there they were, Alvin and Brittney, getting extremely cozy in the booth next to us.  
We both plopped down.  
"I thought they were mad at each other still over the- you know," Eleanor whispered.  
I shrugged. "I guess not."  
Then we looked over again, and, you won't beleive this, but right as we looked over, they kissed.  
Shocked, i sat down again and turned to Eleanor.  
"But Alvin has a girlfriend!"


	4. Chapter 4

-Theodore-  
"But... Alvin has a girlfriend!"  
Eleanor's eyes tripled in size. "WHAT?" she yelled.  
"Shhh!" I said, putting a finger to her lips. "They'll hear you and recognize your voice. Here, let's move to another booth where we can talk about this..."  
I grabbed her wrist and pulled her over to another booth.  
As we sat down in a booth across the room from Alvin and Brit, where we could monitor them but their backs were to us and we were surely out of earshot, Eleanor hissed through gritted teeth, "I swear, Teddy, if Alvin hurts her, I will break his neck..."  
That's my girl. I patted her knee. "Okay, look, it's kind of complicated. His girlfriend is in Cancun this summer. Her family goes there every summer and-"  
"That's no excuse!" she snapped, cutting me off. "If I go to Cancun all summer, you don't get to go run around with some other girl, so don't get any ide-"  
"I KNOW. And I won't, okay?" I interrupted. "Let me finish. So, she's in Cancun, right? And you know Alvin. He doesn't like to be alone-"  
"Neither do I , but every time I'm alone for an amount of time I don't-"  
"I know! I know, Ellie. Stop interrupting me, okay?" I paused, to check if she was done, and she just pursed her lips, so I continued. "Okay. So Alvin doesn't like to be alone, and he keeps coming back to this one girl. They've been off and on for like a year now, and they constantly get in these little fights. But before she left, I think they got into a big fight-"  
"So they're-"  
"ELEANOR."  
"Sorry. Continue."  
"I don't know if they made up or not."

-Eleanor-  
I paused, to see if he was done, and when he just looked at me expectantly, i said, "So, you're saying Alvin may or may not be cheating on this other girl with Brittney?" He nodded. "Okay. So what do we do?"  
He sighed, and shrugged, looking out the window. "We wait."


	5. Chapter 5

-Jeanette-  
That night, i sat on the front porch until Simon got home from work, and we went on a walk.  
The sun was beginning to set. A beautiful pink light floated in the air all around us. We walked most of the way in silence, just enjoying each other's company. When you're with Simon, you don't have to talk. We walked, and I struggled to keep in time with him, seeing as his strides are longer than mine. As we neared teh end of our walk, I glanced over at Simon, who seemed to be deep in thought.  
"Whatcha thinking about?" I asked. He didn't reply, only sighed and shrugged. "Sometimes I wish I could get inside your head..." I said quietly, then let the conversation lag and return to silence again.

-Simon-  
She was what i was thinking about. "Tell her. Tell her now. You won't have another time like this..." a voice said inside my head. I looked over at Jeanette, who was looking wistfully up at the pink-and-purple clouds with an absentmided smile playing across her lips. I opened my mouth, closed it, opened it again, and said quietly:  
"Jeanette..."  
She looked over at me and smiled. "Hm?"  
"Jeanette, I..." I paused. We were by her house at this point, and as we walked up the path to her front door, I cleared my throat and said again, in a shaky voice, "I really..." she looked at me expectantly. I sighed and opened my mouth to say it when...

-Eleanor-  
I walked up the front drive, holding Theodore's hand. "Hey you two. Hope we're not interrupting anything."  
Simon shot Theodore a look, which Theodore answered with a confused face.  
Jeanette didn't notice this silent communtication, and smiled brightly, saying, "Oh, no worries, El!"  
I looked over the front door, and noticed a pink sticky note. i walked over, and pulled it off, reading aloud with difficulty due to Miss Miller's awful cursive, "Girls, I've gone to see my second cousin (you've never met her) , who got into a car crash... I'll be back in well, as soon as i can."  
Jeanette frowned, walking over to me. "Oh no! Ughhh... I hate being in this house all by ourselves!"  
"You can stay at our house!" Simon blurted behind us, and blushed immediately after the words had passed his lips.  
"That would be great!" Jeanette smiled genuinely.  
"Yeah," I agreed, "Just let us go get our stuff..."  
"As long as it's okay with Dave, of course," Jeanette added quickly.  
Simon grinned and shrugged. "I'm sure it will be."  
Jeanette smiled cheerily and headed into the house. I followed quickly.

-Jeanette-  
I walked up the stairs, Ellie close behind. When we entered our bedroom, she said in a frank tone:  
"He likes you."  
I blushed,, and pretended to be very interested in the fabric of my jeans. "El, no he does not. Simon doesn't like me. He never has, he never will. Just accept it."  
"Yes he does! He always has and always will! Just accept it!" she said, smiling and rolling her eyes. "Girl, did you see the way he was looking at you? It was like Alvin when we went to go see 'Transformers' and the only part of the movie he actually cared about was Megan Fox's boobs."  
I gave her a dissaproving look. "Eleanor-"  
She grabbed my chin and said, with a funny grin, "To him, you're the Megan Fox's boobs in the 'Transformers' movie of life!"  
I pulled away from her, rubbing my chin, and exclaimed, "Gross! Gosh, that's awful, Ellie."  
"It's a poetic analogy."  
"No. It's disgusting," I corrected, opening my dresser drawers.  
"Well, regardless, he likes you." She paused, as if waiting for a reply (which she was not getting). After a minute of silence, she said, "I mean, come on. You like him, he AH-BVIOUSLY likes you, why the hell aren't you two together?"  
"A) he doesn't like me, and B) please don't curse at me."  
"Okay, I wasn't cursing AT you, I was cursing AROUND you." She replied, with a quick eye-roll. "And he does like you, Jeanette! You are so his type."  
I frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" I asked as I haphazardly folded a shirt and threw it in my bag.  
I moved on to the next shirt, and she replied, "It's not a bad thing- don't fold it like that, it doesn't go that way- it's a good thing. He likes you."  
I rolled my eyes. "Whatever."  
"Which one are you saying that about, the way the shirt is supposed to be folded, or Simon liking you?"  
"Both."

-Eleanor-  
I pursed my lips at this comment, but remained silent, to see if she had anything to say that she was withholding due to all of my chatter. If there is one thing i have learned from Theodore, it is that you must close your trap and listen to the other person when you want to learn something about them and thorough questioning isn't working.  
Jeanette briskly put in her brush, her deodorant, and her bag of scrunchies. But as she put in her book, she sat on the bed and crumpled. She put her face in her hands. "Eleanor..." she said quietly and dismally, "If he liked me... wouldn't he have told me by now?"  
She looked up at me sadly, and I could see in her face that this was something she had been thinking about for quite some time now. I sighed slowly, and sat next to her, putting my arm around her thin shoulders. "Oh, Jeanette..." i sighed, hugging her a little. "That's silly, and you know it. He'll come around, he just needs some time, is all. And besides..." I chuckled, patting her shoulder, "It's not your fault he doesn't have the balls to do it!"  
She laughed. "Eleanor! That's simply awful!"  
I giggled, walking over to my bed, where I put my phone charger into my bag. "Maybe so, but you know it's true!" I paused. "And seriously Jeanette, at some point you might just end up asking him instead. As you may remember, I had to ask Teddy, he was so shy about it."  
She gasped, and looked uncomfortable. "Oh, I don't think I could ever do that. It would be so awfully embarrassing and- ... What if he said no?"  
I shrugged. "Sometimes its worth the risk."  
She sighed and nodded. We were silent for a few minutes.  
I zipped up my bag, and she asked suddenly, "Aren't you going to take any pj's?"  
I laughed and replied, "Jen, when you have a boyfriend, you don't bring pj's. You wear his."

-Theodore-  
The girls came out, and Eleanor hooked her arm in mine and asked, leaning her head on my shoulder, "Hey, I can borrow some of your pj's, right, Teddy Bear?"  
I blushed and glanced at Simon, who gave me a smug look on account of the cheesy pet name that he always made fun of, then said quietly, "Of course, El, i don't see why not."  
Eleanor looked over at Jeanette and said, "See, what did I tell you?"  
I muttered, "Okay, I don't even want to know."  
WE started over to my house, and we had barely made it across the yard when Jeanette suddenly slapped herself on the forehead and exclaimed, "Ugh! Oh no! Crap! I can't beleive I- ugh! Wait, let me go back and get... ugh..."  
Witht that, she turned back and scrambled all the way back to their front door. Seh leaned ont he door and tried to turn the handle about 70 times bfore the door finally gave way. Becasue she had all of her weight on the door, she fell into the house with a small shriek. We heard some clanging, like she knocked something over.  
"I'm okay!" she yelled.  
Simon rolled his eyes and grinned fondly, muttering, "That's my girl..."  
Eleanor snorted. "Not until you grow a pair and ask her out."  
Simon gave her a look but did not reply.  
Jeanette finally made it back, saying something about a paper or something, and we made our way over to our house, actually getting there this time.

-Alvin-  
I walked in the door, holding Brittney's hand (which, by the way, is extremely soft...) and walked in on Simon, Jeanette, Theodore, and Eleanor playing MarioKart on the Wii. I didn't have to look at the screen. i just knew. Maybe it was becasue their conversation was going something like this:

Simon: SHIT. I'm in last again- I always lose at this game!  
Jeanette: Please don't curse, Si, here, you can pass me.  
Simon: You don't have to do that, Jen...Really, you don't.  
Eleanor: EAT MY DUST, SUCKAAAAAAAS! Ha! I just lapped you, Simon!  
Simon: Shitttttt...  
Jeanette: Simon...!  
Simon: Sorry.  
Theodore: Awwwh... I got ran over again...  
Eleanor: Oops. Sorry, Teddy Bear.  
Theodore: Love you too.

Brittney walked into the room first. "Hey guys. Is there a reason for this get-together? Who died?"  
Eleanor must have run over Theodore again, because he said, "God, Ellie, what is your PROBLEM, honestly!" before he turned to Brit. "Oh, nobody died. Miss Miller's going away for a while, so you guys are staying over here."  
Jeanette laughed. "I just passed you, Theo!"  
"Crap!"  
I cheered. "YES! This is awesome!" I walked into the room. "I'm so glad you get to stay," I whispered in Brittney's ear, coming up behind her and hugging her from behind around the waist.

-Eleanor-  
I drove off of the giant green mushroom, that distracted me so much. Alvin holding her like that- and she could be the other girl! And he knew! Ugh. I frowned and turned back to the game, pouting furiously. Theodore, the amazing boy he is, noticed my change in attitude and gave a me a concerned look. I looked pointedly at Alvin and Brittney. He glanced over, looked back at me, and rolled his eyes.  
"What is wrong with you three?" Jeanette asked, without taking her eyes from the screen. "I'm beating all of you!"  
Three? I looked over at Simon, who was also looking at Alvin and Brittney with a thouroughly confused expression on his face.  
I put down my remote as the game finished. I was in tenth, Theodore in eleventh, and Simon, of course, in dead last.  
Theodore gave me a look and said, "I'm going to go get a snack."  
"I'm coming with you," I announced, and followed him into the kitchen.

-Simon-  
Eleanor and Theodore going into the kitchen alone usually meant one of three things:  
1)Theodore was hungry.  
2)They were going to go make out where nobody could bother them.  
3)They knew something the rest of us didn't know and they wanted to discuss it in private.

I knew Theodore was no longer hungry, seeing as he had just eaten an entire box of cookies, and neither of them seemed to be in the mood today, so I assumed that they must be talking about something important. in a surge of curiousity, I stood up and patted Jeanette on the knee, saying, "I'll be right back." and followed the other two into the kitchen.  
I leaned on the door and listened.  
"Ugh it makes me sick," Eleanor whispered. "I can't beleive this. At all. This is just... ugh... it makes me so, so sick."  
"Me too." Theodore whispered back, "But it's just the way he is and-"  
"Theodore, we can't just dismiss this, okay? This is a big deal." From the sound of it, Eleanor was pacing around the kitchen.  
They still hadn't really explained anything, so I figured I might as well insert myself in the conversation. i opened the door and walked in.  
"Okay," I said, leaning against the counter, "What's going on?"  
Eleanor gave me sarcastic smile and said in a disdainful voice, "Yes, I'm going to tell you Simon, because you were totally invited to join us."  
Theodore sighed. "Simon, it's nothing-"  
"Uhm, I just heard Eleanor say that it's a big deal," I interrupted. "So what is it."  
Theodore looked uncomfortable, and rubbed the back of his head, making his hair get all messed up.  
Eleanor shook her head, massaging her temples and closing her eyes. "Simon, I really don't think it's our place to tell you."  
"Besides, we need to get back in there before the others get suspicious," Theodore added.  
Eleanor nodded, grabbed his hand, and pulled him in the direction of the living room. Theodore gave me a weak, apologetic smile over his shoulder. I looked up at the ceiling for a minute, sighed, and headed back into the living room after them.

-Brittney-  
Theodore and Eleanor came back into the living room and i couldn't help but notice Theodore's hair was a little messier than what it was before they went in.  
I smiled at them. "What have you two been doing in there, huh? Theo, you look a little ruffled..."  
Alvin, whose lap I was sitting on, added loudly, "GET YOU SOME!"  
Theodore blushed, and Eleanor giggled.  
"You two be quiet! We weren't doing any of that stuff..." she said, sitting on the couch next to me and Alvin, indicating a seat next ot her for Theo. He obediently sat there.  
Simon came in and sat down next to Jeanette, who was staring at her socks and looking very perplexed.  
"What's wrong, Jeanette?" he asked, putting an arm around her shoulders.  
"One of my socks is, like, a whole five inches longer than the other..." she replied quietly. "They weren't like this the last time I wore them."  
"That's because they don't match," I explained.  
"Yes they do," she responded, pulling on her left sock expirementally.  
"No. They don't." I said in a flat tone, then perked up, sat up straight, shifting my weight (this produced an "ow" from Alvin) and asked everyone, "So, what should we do?"  
"Well, first of all, you should be careful how you sit," Alvin said.  
I made a face at him. "Sorr-ee! Drama queen." Then i looked around at the other four. "OO! We should play Truth or Dare!"  
Simon groaned, but everyone else was okay with it.  
We all sat on the ground, and I took an empty Coke bottle and put it in the middle of the circle. "Okay, everyone knows how to play? Standard rules, 2 chickens, whoever it lands on picks truth or dare, the spinner of hte bottle asks the question or chooses the dare."  
Everyone nodded, so I spun the bottle. It turned and turned and turned, and landed on Alvin.  
"Heyyyy..." i said, winking. "Truth or Dare?"

-Alvin-  
I sighed and pretended to think for a second, then said, "Dare."  
Suddenly, Eleanor rose her hand and announced, "I propose a new rule! Everyone has to pick Truth at least once!"  
Brittney seemed to approve, so i sighed and muttered, "Fine, I might as well get it over with. Truth."  
Brittney thought for a second. "Hmm... Alvin Seville, what is your favorite thing about me? And you have to tell the truth!"  
"Doesn;t truth have to be a yes or no question?" Eleanor asked.  
"Nope, they just have to tell the truth." Brittney looked expectantly at me.  
I sighed, and looked down at hte carpet, blushing over what i was about to say. It was going to come out so cheesy, event hough it was kind of just the truth... "Okay, honestly? And you might not like this, because it's not.. uh.. well, uhm,.. but it's my honest opinion... my favorite thing about you is your... uh, eyes."

-Eleanor-  
Okay, so I really expected Alvin to say something like "Your boobs" or "Your curves" or "Your legs" but no, it was her eyes... and he was looking right down at the carpet the entire time, like he had trouble saying it out loud. It was so sweet. And for hte first time that day, I thought maybe this would all work out like Theodore thought, and maybe Alvin wouldn't be so bad for Brittney.

-Brittney-  
It was silent for a moment while Alvin stared down at the carpet, like he was waiting for someone to laugh at him. Instead, for reasons I still don't understand, I leaned over and pulled him into a hug. He didn't hug back, just sat there.  
I sat back against the couch, and smiled at him.  
He smiled back, and cleared his throat. "Annnnnyways... I guess its time for me to spin the bottle, huh?"  
So he spun and it landed on Theodore. Theodore frowned.

-Theodore-  
Okay, I love Alvin and everything, but when you're playing Truth or Dare, he is the last person you want to be dared by, or asked a question by, for that matter. he has all these crazy dares stored up in his head where there should be, oh I don't know, Algebra or something, and oh my god, the dares he comes up with... ugh. But when you pick Truth, he asks you the most embarrassing or personal questions he could ask.  
I sighed, and picked the lesser of the two evils. "Truth."  
Alvin smiled deviously and said quietly, rubbing his hands together, "Okay, Theodore, please tell me..." he thought for a second. "How far have you and Eleanor gone?"  
Okay, I'm pretty sure i was the color of a firetruck.  
Eleanor bristled. "Alvin, that's..." she gave up and shook her head.  
"Alvin, I think that's a little too personal," Simon commented.  
"Doesn't matter. He has to answer it regardless. Unless he uses one of his Chickens, but I think he probably would want to save those for dares."  
I sighed and asked, "Can I just tell you and can you not shout it to everybody?"  
He pouted. "Wellll, fine."

-Eleanor-  
I watched silently as Theodore leaned over and whispered in Alvin's ear, then sat back against the couch, slouching and blushing.  
"Wow, Theodore," Alvin commented, wiggling his eyebrows. "WOW."  
"Shut up," Theodore muttered, blushing even more as he leaned forward and spun the bottle. It landed on me.  
"Good," i thought, "I got off easy. We never dare each other or ask each other embarrassing questions."  
Theodore smiled at me and asked, "Ellie, how much do you love me?"  
"To the moon and back!" I replied, giggling and giving him a peck on the cheek.  
He blushed adorably, and I just had to hug him. And then I had to kiss him again, and then we had to make out right htere in the living room.  
"Gag me with a spoon," Alvin interrupted us with his very loud comment.  
"Don't tempt me," I replied, after pulling away from Theodore.  
He made face, but didn't have a comeback.  
I spun the bottle, and, whattaya know, it landed on Simon.  
I smilled sweetly at him and asked in a fake country accent, "So, what'll it be, darlin'? Truth or Dare?"  
Simon sighed. "Truth."  
"I 'm calling a no-chicken on this one!" I told Brittney, who nodded.  
Simon looked annoyed, but didn't comment.  
I smiled and said, "Now, remember, Simon, you've got to tell the absolute, honest truth. No lying! And this is a no-chicken question." He just looked at me keenly, waiting for his question. I hated to put him under this pressure, but it had to be done. "Simon, if you had to date one girl in the school, who would you date?"


	6. Chapter 6

-Simon-  
Okay, not fair. She knows I don't want to disclose this information right here in front of everyone. i know she knows. But she's asking anyway.  
Honestly.  
What a bitch move.  
I knew I was probably the color of Alvin's swimming trunks (which he was still wearing- don't ask me why). I glanced at Jeanette, who was looking at me very intently. I looked back at my questioner, and coughed, blushed again, and said, "Hmm. So it can't be anyone from the Arts school downtown?"  
Eleanor frowned. "No. Our school."  
"So... OUR school..."  
"Yes. Simon, answer the question, would you?"  
"The highschool or the middleschool?"  
She rolled her eyes. "Simon."  
"It's a viable question. We're halfway through the summer between middleschool and highschool. So, is it-"  
"ANSWER THE QUESTION, SIMON."  
"Gosh! Fine, El, jeez..." I paused, and took in a deep breath.

-Jeanette-  
Say it. Say my name, please, please say my name. Say my name and carry me into the sunset while dramatic music plays in the background...

-Simon-  
I opened my mouth to say it when the door to the garage banged open and Dave came in with his breifcase, looking exhausted.  
I don't think I had ever been so happy to see Dave in my life. i jumped up and walked over, thinking to myself how this was the PERFECT excuse... had he balnced his checkbook or paid his bills yet? Dave wasn't much for math, so maybe he would let me do it for him.  
"Hi Dave!" I said, trying to sound normal as I could while my heart was beating much faster than what was healthy.  
"Oh, hi Simon," he responded as he walked over to the dinner table and set his stuff down. he poked his head back into the hallway and looked into the living room. "Hi Alvin, Theodore..." he saw the girls and continued in a confused voice, "Eleanor, Brittany and Jeanette...?"  
"Hi, Dave," a chorus of voices responded.  
He turned back to me, pulling his keys out of his pocket and putting them on the microwave stand. "Is there a reason why the girls are over here? Does Miss Miller know?"  
"Miss Miller is going to see her second cousin who got in a car crash. She said she would be gone for a while and Jea- I mean, the girls didn't want to stay in the house alone so I thought maybe Jea- i mean, the girls could stay with us for a bit," I responded.  
"Oh. I see," Dave said. "Well, tell them they can stay, but they can't sleep in your room- i don't know that i trust all of you to do that."  
I laughed. "Oh, I wouldn't worry about that, Dave."  
Dave shook his head. "Yeah, easy for you to say. Do you know the teen pregnancy rate?" With that, he started back to his bedroom to take a shower and stuff.  
"Hey, Dave," I called after him.  
He turned around. "Yes, Simon?"  
"Have you balanced your checkbook or paid your bills?" i asked.  
He sighed and started to come back to the kitchen. "Ugh. I almost forgot. Thanks, Simon, someone's gotta keep me in line," he said, ruffling my hair. "I'll get right on that."  
"No, you can go on and get ready for bed, Dave. I'll do it for you."  
He smiled. "Really?" i nodded. "And i trust you know how to do that." Better than you, I thought, but didn't say it, just nodded again instead. "Great! Thanks so much, Simon. Thank you." He pulled me into a hug, then turned back to the hallway, where he faced the living room again. "Now," he said in their direction, "I'm going to bed. I'm really exhausted. You guys can stay up for a while, but please be asleep by one in the morning. And keep it to a dull roar please, I want to sleep. Goodnight."  
He turned toward his room, and started back there. I sat at the kitchen table and started working.

-Eleanor-  
As soon as Dave said goodnight, Alvin turned to us and made a face, saying in a mocking voice:  
"Please be asleep by one in the morning! Blah Blah Blah!"  
We snickered, and Dave yelled from his bedroom:  
"I heard that, Alvin!"  
"Love you, Dave!" Alvin responded, grinning.  
I shook my head, smiling. Alvin is such a goofball. Then i looked around the circle and realized Simon was still not back. I got up and went into the kitchen, ruffling Theodore's hair on my way out.  
When I went into the kitchen, I found him sitting at the table iwth a pile of papers sitting in front of him.  
"Simon," I said, leaning on the doorframe, "You're not going back in there, are you?"  
"I'm working," he answered briskly.  
I sighed, and shook my head. "Fine. But you know you're going to have to tell her at some point, right?"  
Simon looked over at me and opened his mouth, tehn closed it as if deciding against saying something, then opened it again and replied, "I don't know what you're talking about."  
"You," I replied, walking over to him and leaning down a little so I could whisper, "You know exactly what i am talking about Simon, don't even give me that BS, okay?" he pursed his lips, and looked back down at his paper. "Look. All I'm saying is, she's not like me. Theodore didn't ask me, and I got so tired of it I asked him. Let me tell you, that's not going to happen with Jeanette. She will wait for you to ask becasue she can't do it herself. And one day, she's going to meet another boy, Simon, and she's going to move on with her life." He sighed, but did not meet eyes with me. "Simon, are you really going to let that happen?"  
He still didn't reply, so i walked back to the door, saying over my shoulder, "Think about it."

-Simon-  
i watched her go, and as soon as she left, I put my head down on the table.  
She was right.  
I had to tell Jeanette soon.

-Brittney-  
"Alvin, quit it!" I squealed, scooting away. He kept tickling me! I tried to crawl away and was almost across to where Jeanette was when he grabbed me around the waist and pulled me back onto his lap.  
"Quit what?" he asked, tickling me again.  
"AHH QUIT IT!" I screamed, laughing and squirming and trying to get away.  
"Quit what?" he asked a second time, tickling me again.  
"OHMIGAWD STOPPPPP!"  
"Honestly, Alvin, will you just leave her alone?" Jeanette asked, looking annoyed.  
Alvin let me go, and gave Jeanette a look, "Jesus, who put the Edward Cullen in your Harry Potter book, Jeanette?"  
Jeanette shook her head, then pulled her knees up to ther chest and put her forehead on them. "Just... leave me alone, okay?"  
Theodore patted Jeanette on the shoulder with a worried look on his face.  
I smoothed down my hair (it had gotten messed up when Alvin had been tickling me), and asked, "What's wrong, Jen?"  
Her muffled voice responded, "You wouldn't understand."  
Eleanor walked back in the room with a bag of chips. "You guys need to be quieter. Dave is trying to sleep..." she sat down, heaving a sigh, and noticed Jeanette. "Are you okay, Jeanette?"  
Jeanette lifted up her head and put a weak smile on, saying in a faux-chipper voice that lacked the enthusiasum of her normal voice, "Oh, I'm fine. Just... tired, is all." she paused, then asked, "Is he coming back in here?"  
Eleanor rolled her eyes. "No. He's working, apparently."  
Jeanette sighed, and dropped the unenthusiastic smile. "Oh."  
There was a quiet, awkward moment.  
Then I sat up and asked, "Soooo... what should we do now? Truth or Dare is getting boring. Wanna play Seven Minutes in Heaven?"  
"But there's three of you and two of us," Theodore said quietly.  
"Oh. Good point," i responded, looking at the ground.  
"Wanna play Bull?" Alvin asked, smirking.  
"So you can win because you can lie like a rug? Yeah, right," I remarked, rolling my eyes.  
Alvin pouted. "Come on. Please? I'll let you beat me in DDR."  
I sighed, and he gave me a puppy face. "Fine. Even though i USUALLY beat you on DDR. Whatever. Let's play Bull."  
"Yay!" he cheered, and got a deck of cards off of the coffee table.  
The night went on like that, loads of fun. I had a feeling that living with the boys for however long would be great.

Bottom of Form


	7. Chapter 7

-Eleanor-  
It was 4:23 in the morning, and there was no way I was going to sleep. I was on the floor. I had volunteered to sleep in the sleeping bag because Brittney wouldn't stop bitching about wanting to be on the couch without having to curl up because of me and Jeanette was already on the recliner. I had not slept a wink all night, and we had stopped playing Bull at 2:30. Two hours nad three minutes and I had still not slept.  
Finally, I gave up and inched out of the sleeping bag (which, by the way, was Alvin's- and I didn't want to know what he had done in there previously) and pulled on my socks. I padded slowly up the stairs and into the boys' room.  
As soon as I entered the room, a voice whispered, "Hey, El."  
I jumped. "What? Who's that?"  
"It's Simon," he replied, and I squinted and found him in the dim moonlight from the window. He was sitting up in bed.  
"Oh. Hey," I responded. "You can't sleep either?"  
"No," he replied, then paused for a second. "Teddy's asleep now, but you can go over there anyway."  
"Okay, thanks," I started over to Theodore's bed, then stopped and asked, "And you're not going to rat on me, right?"  
He chuckled. "Of course not."  
"Thanks, Si. Goodnight."  
"Goodnight, Eleanor."  
I smiled, then crept over to Theodore's bed. I sat down, and as soon as I did, Theodore sat straight up, let out a small yelp, and looked over at me with a scared, wide awake expression on his face. When he recognized me, he frowned and laid back down, muttering, "You scared the crap out of me..."  
"Sorry, Theo," I whispered, getting under the covers and snuggling up to him. "i couldn't sleep on the floor."  
He grunted, and whispered back, "I was having a good dream too. Gosh."  
"I'm sorry!"  
He turned away, toward the window. "Okay. Apology accepted. Go to sleep."  
We were quiet.

-Theodore-  
We were quiet for about five minutes. Then Eleanor whispered:  
"I can't."  
I was so tired, I had no clue what she was talking about. "Can't what? Go to sleep."  
"I am trying. I can't."  
"Can't what?"  
She sighed and mumbled, "Forget it."  
I turned over again, so now I was facing her. She was staring at the ceiling, her eyes wide open. I sighed, and sat up. "Okay. What do you want me to do?"  
"What?"  
"You're awake. I'm awake. Let's go do something."  
"What?"  
"I'm hungry."  
"What?"  
As you can see, communication is very important in our relationship.

-Eleanor-  
I walked down the stairs behind Theodore. We went into the kitchen and sat at the table with a box of Twinkies.  
"I'm not eating those," I said quietly so as to not wake up anyone else, crossing my arms.  
"Did I say they were for you?" he asked, opening the box.  
We were silent as he ate a Twinkie, and then started on another one.  
"Those are bad for you," I commented.  
"So is not getting any sleep," he responded quickly.  
"Did you know I was going to say that? That response sounded planned."  
"Yes, I knew, and yes, it was planned."  
We were quiet for a moment. Then I said quietly, "So... i want to hear more about this girl."  
With his mouth full of Twinkie, he replied, looking confused, "Girl?"  
"Please don't talk with the Twinkie in your mouth."  
He rolled his eyes and swallowed, muttering, "Gimme a break, it's four in the morning."  
I sighed, and continued, "You know. The one Alvin is with. Have I ever met her?"  
"Oh," he said, starting to unwrap another Twinkie. I stopped him. He gave me a dirty look, but let me take the box and put it away. He waited until I sat back donw, then continued, "Her name is Sophi, and you wouldn't know her. She goes to the Arts school downtown. She's a ballet student, and a singer, although not as good as you or Brit or Jeanette. She's at the art school just for ballet."  
"Okay. What does she look like?"  
"She's tall- relative to me and you, anyway- and she has brown hair."  
I waited for more, but he stopped there. I shook my head. "Wow, that sure was detailed," I said sarcastically.  
"I know," he said, smiling. Then he leaned back in his chair, adding, "I don't know what Alvin sees in her. I always thought she was kind of a bitch, you know? She thinks she's waaayyy better than anyone else and, in reality..." he yawned, then continued, "...she's nothing special."

-Brittney-  
I woke up at four something because i had to pee. I laid there for about ten minues, too lazy to get up. When I just couldn't stand it anymore, I got up to use the bathroom, and walked past the kitchen, where I heardvoices.  
"She's not even that pretty. Like, she hardly eats, and she wears a lot of makeup, but htat means she just looks like a skinny clown."  
The other person giggled. "That's mean."  
"Maybe so, but it's true."  
i poked my head in. "What are you two talking about?"  
Theodore and Eleanor both jumped, and turned around.  
Eleanor opened her mouth to say something, but before she could, Theodore interrupted her.  
"Oh, just a girl at the Arts school downtown," he replied.  
"Yeah, and there's something we need to-"  
"It's nothing important," Theodore added, talking over Eleanor again.  
They were acting weird, but i just shook my head and went to the bathroom.

A girl from the Arts school.  
Something Eleanor needed to tell me, but something Theodore didn't want me to know.  
That should have been clue number one.


	8. Chapter 8

-Brittney-  
I woke up the next morning with a crick in my neck and an awful pain in my lower back, most likely from sleeping on the couch. I sleepily sat up and adjusted my camisole, which got twisted around in the night, and looked around the room. The TV was on, but I was the only one in the living room. I looked at the clock. It was 8:54.  
"What the hell am I doing up so early?" I thought, then spotted Alvin walking into the kitchen through the patchof hallway I could see form my spot on the couch, and added, "What the hell is ALVIN doing up so early?"  
I slowly stood up and stretched, then walked into the kitchen very slowly, where I was immediately met with the smell of bacon, pancakes, eggs, and rolls.  
It was a beautiful day outside. Sunlight streamed in though the windows and left patterns on the floor. Eleanor and Theodore were laughing and talking as they cooked. Simon was sitting at the kitchen table next to Jeanette. I walked in and sat down beside Dave.  
"Good morning, Brittney," he said. "I hope you slept well."  
I massaged the back of my neck and replied, "Yeah, well, it was all right. But my neck hurts."  
Dave gave me a concerned look, then said, "You'll have to get the boys to switch with you three tonight. I can't imagine the couch would be too comfortable."  
Jeanette turned to us and said in a very chipper voice, "Oh, it was fantastic, actually. I slept really well on the recliner."  
I gave her a look, remembering how I had wanted the recliner but she had convinced me the couch was better, and said in an icy voice, "I bet you did."  
Right then, Alvin walked in with the phone. He was wearing a red t-shirt with a picture of a bike over the words "MY OTHER RIDE IS YOUR MOM". He smiled and said into the phone, "Yeah. Thanks, babe. Yeah. Bye."  
He hung up the phone and threw it onto the table, barely missing Simon's head. "Okay," he said, grinning brilliantly at us, "We're all going to the mall today."  
Simon sighed. "Alvin, you may not remember this, but I have a job..."  
"That's totally taken care of. Celia is taking your time over today," Alvin replied matter-of-factly, sitting at the head of the table.  
"Uh, what?" Simon looked suprised. "How'd you get her to do that?"  
Alvin shrugged. "Let's just say..." he paused, and straightened his hat. "I can be very charming when I need to be."  
Simon and Dave both gave him the same disapproving look. For men of two different species, they can be very alike.

-Alvin-  
I made a face back at them, then sat straight up in my seat as Eleanor and Theodore brought in the food.  
As they set the food down aand sat at the table, Eleanor said, "Wait a second. Let me get this straight. So, you flirted with her just to get Simon out of work?"  
I nodded. "Yeah. But come on now, it didn't mean anything. I mean, it's Celia. Come on."  
"Celia," Simon added, "Is very smart and very pretty, though a little timid. You would be lucky to have a girl of Celia's caliber, Alvin."  
Brittney rolled her eyes. "Come on now. I mean, if you like that kind of girl, I can see where you're going. But she's not his type."  
I nodded, agreeing, "Yep. And it's obvious what my type is..." I pointed to Brittney, who also pointed to herself.  
We laughed, and I leaned over and pecked her on the cheek.  
When I sat back in my seat, I caught a funny look on Eleanor's face. I wondered what it was about, but was distracted when Dave said, "So, you're all going to the mall?"  
I nodded. "Unless someone wants to sit on their ass-"  
"Alvin. Language."  
"Sorry," I said, rolling my eyes, "...their butt all day. I mean, it's been ages since we all just hung out together..." There was a reason for that, but i wasn't going to talk about that.  
"Okay," Dave said. "I'll drive you."  
"I assumed. We can't exactly walk all the way there," I replied, rolling my eyes again and spooning some eggs onto my plate.

SEVERAL HOURS LATER…

-Alvin-  
So there we were in hte food court. We had been at the mall for about two hours. Yes, you read that right. Two hours. We had already gone swimsuit shopping (one of the best twenty-five minutes of my life- Brittney trying on skimpy bikini after skimpy bikini), walked literally all over the mall, and now we were just sitting in the food court, people-watching.  
One woman fast-walked by. She was tall, red-faced, and beefy, and looked like she was going to be late.  
"I bet she is late," i commented, pointing to the woman.  
Everyone looked.  
"For what, her next date with a Big Mac?" Brittney added, snorting.  
Eleanor punched her on the shoulder. "Brit, that's awful. Don't judge people by their weight."  
Brittney rubbed her shoulder. "OW! That hurt, Eleanor. And besides, you're not even big anymore." Eleanor punched her again. "OW! What the hell was that for?"  
"I wasn't big," Eleanor responded, sipping her soda calmly. "I'm just smaller now."  
Brittney sighed. "You were big. Admit it."  
Eleanor shook her head. "I wasn't big. And even if I was big, it doesn't matter because guess who is wearing your jeans."  
Brittney gasped. "Oh my gosh! Stand up, El! Let me see!"  
Eleanor stood up, holding up her shirt a little so we could see the jeans. She spun around.  
"I'm so proud of you!" Brittany squealed, pulling Eleanor into a hug.  
"You see, Theodore," I said, leaning toward him, "If you lose a buttload of weight and wear my jeans to the mall, I'll squeal loudly and hug you too."  
Simon and Theodore laughed.  
"I'll have to start losing weight then, "Theodore said, laughing.  
Brittany turned Eleanor around and smacked her butt. "Your ass looks good in my jeans!"  
"I know, right?" Theodore added, pinching her butt.  
Eleanor blushed, spinning around to face us, and exclaimed, "Theodore!"  
Theodore smiled and stuck his toungue out at her. She giggled and sat back down on his lap.

-Jeanette-  
They're so cute! I glanced at Simon, and wondered if we would ever be like that. Would I ever sit on Simon's lap in the food court? Would I ever giggle and rest my head on his shoulder while he had one arm around my waist and the other resting on my knee?  
No. Odds are, I would not. Because Simon doesn't like me that way.

-Brittany-  
I leaned on Alvin and sighed, then looked up at him. He seemed distracted. I waved my hand in front of his face. "Helloooo? Earth to Alvin?"  
He blinked several times and looked over at me. "What?"  
"What's wrong, Alvin?" I asked.  
"Oh," he shrugged. "Nothing." But I could tell there was something. I didn't ask further. After a moment, he smiled and said, "Who's ready for highschool chorus?"  
Simon sighed. "I don't even know if i'm going to audition."  
"What?" Alvin and Jeanette said at the exact same time.  
I was not so suprised. Simon had talked for a while about not doing chorus to get in more schooltime. When we had talked about it in the hall last year, he had said, "Only seven periods, and so much to learn."  
"Well," Simon said, "It's just, we get three exploratories, and i want to take French, get PE over with, an take the engineering class at the Career and Technical center."  
Jeanette looked horrified. "But Simon... it won't be the same."  
Simon shrugged. "Yeah, but I need to get ready for the rest of my life, and i just don't think singing is going to be part of that."  
Alvin sighed. "Well, that sucks. But I know I'm trying out for mixed chorus, and for the afterschool choir too."  
"Afterschool choir?" Simon repeated, looking surprised.  
"Yeah, apparently the lady from the Arts school downtown is retiring. And now she's going to start an afterschool choir so she has something to do. It's at the art school,but the public school kids are welcome. Auditions start in two weeks."  
I nodded. "I heard that."  
Eleanor rolled her eyes. "I've heard that woman is totally bonkers. I've heard her audition process is insanely hard."  
Theodore nodded. "I've heard she's very unconventional."  
"Well," Alvin replied, eatingone of my fries, "We're not exactly converntional either, now are we? Talking chipmunks."

-Eleanor-  
The Arts school. So, how did Alvin hear about this? Was he still in touch with Sophi?  
"How'd you hear about this anyway?" I asked, shifting my weight and leaning forward.  
Alvin shrugged. "I have my sources."  
"Like what?"  
"I just heard it, okay? Why're you being so nosy anyway?" he asked defensively, crossing his arms.  
"I just want to know where you heard it," I said in my most innocent voice.  
"I heard it from Sophi," he responded, shrugging. He sighed. "Anyway, I'm going to try out."

-Brittney-  
"Who's Sophi?" I asked.  
Alvin shrugged. "Nobody important. You wouldn't know her."  
"I recognize that name," I said, tapping my toes underneath the table. Where did I know that name? Gossip? Chorus? Dance class? "Are you sure i wouldn't know her?"  
"Yes, Alvin, are you sure," Eleanor added. "Are you sure she shouldn't know about Sophi?"  
Alvin threw up his hands and said in a very, very defensive voice, "God! Why are you two bugging me? You don't know her. It doesn't matter, okay? So can we PLEASE change the subject? PLEASE?"  
He was acting weird.  
A girl named Sophi, whose name i was sure i recognized.  
Something Alvin seemed to be hiding.  
That should have been clue number two.


	9. Chapter 9

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Thanks for the reviews! I literally read them like a bajillion times, it made me so happy. I love you guys! Keep reading, keep reviewing~ 3

-Eleanor-  
We walked through the mall, talking casually.  
"Telephone" by Lady Gaga played over the speakers,a nd immediately Brittany squealed over what Theodore was saying about the subject we were talking about previously, "Ooo! I love this song!"  
Theodore sighed, and muttered, "That's okay, not like I was talking or anything..."  
I'm fairly sure I'm the only one who heard him, though, because Jeanette said, "Oh, I hate Lady Gaga... she is just far too weird for my tastes."  
Brittany looked offended. "Lady Gaga isn't weird! She's... she's an INSPIRATION."  
Alvin nodded, and added, "She's a freaking legend. And we get to see her ass in like EVERY MUSIC VIDEO SHE MAKES."  
Simon wrinkled his nose. "How tasteful of you, Alvin."  
"Oh, Simon, you know you like Lady Gaga's ass," I said teasingly, hip-bumping him.  
He laughed and shook his head.  
Brittany hummed along ot the song. "God, she is just so amazing..."  
Alvin nodded, while Simon and Jeanette both made faces and shook their heads.  
"What do you think, Theodore?" I asked, prodding him, even though i knew the answer already.  
He looked over. "About what?"  
"Lady Gaga, do you lik eher or not?" i asked, raising my eyebrows, smiling wryly, thinking of our last conversation about this. I couldn't wait to see the others' faces.  
"Oh," he said, nodding. He looked over at us, and admitted, "I love Lady Gaga!"  
The entire group stopped and stared at him.  
After a moment, Simon said, "You just lost all of the respect i had for you, Theodore Seville."  
I laughed. "It shocked me too."  
"What?" Theodore asked, looking annoyed.  
"No offense, Theo, but you don't seem the type to like..." Alvin started, then saw the look on Theodore's face, and said, "You know what, forget it."  
We walked in silence for a minute.

-Jeanette-  
Suddenly, Brittany squealed. We stopped in front of a store, mainly becasue she stopped, and when she had stopped so suddenly Alvin had tried to keep walking. She had jerked Alvin backwards, and he let out a loud curse word, causing people to stare.  
We stopped to see what Brittany was so excited about, and there it was. A big store that reeked of cologne. Pumping, bass-infused music pumped from the store, shaking the ground beneath our feet. The entire store was very dimly lit, and there was a huge, blown-up picture of a half-naked man just inside the entrance.  
"Alvin," she whispered, "It's beautiful."  
Alvin rose one eyebrow and said in a gruff tone, rubbing his shoulder, "It looks like a gay bar."  
Simon, Theodore, and Eleanor all snickered.  
Brittany smacked him on his apparently already-painful shoulder, which caused him to exclaim the same curse word again. "Alvin!" after a moment, she said to the rest of us, "Okay, we're going in."  
With that, she grabbed Alvin and Eleanor (my grabbing Eleanor, she was also grabbing Theodore, seeing as he and Ellie were holding hands) and marched into the store.  
When they dissappeared into the recesses of the store, Simon shook his head and remarked, "I'm glad we weren't standing directly to Brit's right when hse decided to go in. That could have been us instead of Eleanor and Theodore."  
I laughed. "That's true. I don't want to go through that..." he nodded, and we were very quiet.  
After a minute, he turned to me, holding out his hand, and asked, "Well, do you want to go to Starbucks before Brittany realizes she left us?"  
I blushed, and nodded, taking his hand. "Of course."  
We walked to Starbucks, hand in hand.

-Brittany-  
I picked through a rack of jeans with light pink detailing on the pockets. It seemed they had these stupid, cute little jeans in every size but my own. I cursed under my breath, but was determined to get a pair of them anyway. i briskly picked a pair off the rack, and walked to the checkout counter.  
The girl at the counter was tall, taller than me, with dark, dark brown hair and platinum-blond highlights. She had big hazel eyes an dwas wearing a lot of makeup. Her clothes were very cute, a pink and white polka-dot tank with a lacy white cami underneath, and a pair of... actually, the same jeans I had picked out. She was chatting away on what looked like an iPhone.  
"Hey, Alvin, babe, call me back, okay? Like I said, I'm back, and you've been ignoring my calls sooooo... call me, babe, 'kay? Love ya bye." she hung up the phone.  
I totally forgot why I had come to the counter. "Alvin"? "Babe"? Who was this girl? Surely it must have been another Alvin. Of course, Alvin isn't exactly a common name, but... still, it must have been. But what if it wasn't?  
Another girl came behind the counter. "Talkin' to Mistah Seville?" she asked the one who had been on the phone.  
I think my heart fell out my butt when the girl nodded and replied, "Yeah, i think he's pissed at me... I hate it when we fight..." and she turned around, seeming to finally notice me, and I saw her nametag.

SOPHI CALDWELL

It was that name-! The not-important girl mentioned in the food court... the description of a girl who looked like "a skinny clown"... and now she was leaving messages on Alvin's phone, calling him babe. I think I could have died. Right. There.  
It all added up.  
He was cheating on me.  
"No, no, no," i thought. "You're jumping ot conclusions. You'll have to ask her how she knows him. He's not cheating on you. Maybe she's an ex or something... yeah, that's right..."  
The girl leaned on teh counter, asking, "Can I help you, hon?"  
I just stared at her. After a moment, i slowly said, "How do you know Alvin? Are you like... his ex or something?"  
She blushed. "Oh, have you been standing here for that long? I'm sorry. Uh, I just know him, okay?"  
"Are you his ex or something?" I asked again, demanding a response this time, leaning on the desk.  
She shrugged. "Ex-girlfriend... girlfriend... it's complicated."  
The girl behind her leaned over and said, "They've been dating for like months."  
Sophi blushed. "Katie!"  
So he was.  
My assumptions were right.  
I dropped the cute jeans, tears welling up in my eyes, and ran as fast as I could out of the store.


	10. Chapter 10

-Alvin-  
I looked over at Eleanor and Theodore, who were talking quietly in a very secretive fashion behind a nearby rack of clothes. They appeared to be arguing about something. Eleanor kept gesturing wildly and, by the way her mouth was moving, seemed to be speaking very emphatically. She looked really aggrivated, and was pacing back and forth and back and forth. Theodore was leaning on a divider between sections and calmly listening. Occasionally he would put his two cents in, and she would either nod and agree or shake her head and throw her arms in the air and start on another tirade.  
I walked casually over, and they immediately stopped talking. "Hey, it's the happy couple." I turned to Theodore. "What's she bitching about?"  
Eleanor looked offended. "I wasn't-"  
"You, Eleanor Miller, were bitching," I interrupted, then looked back at Theodore.  
"It's nothing," he lied.  
Theodore can cook, he can sing, he can play the drums, but if there is one thing he cannot do, it is lie to me.  
I shook my head. "Theodore, don't even try to lie to me. You suck at lying. Every time you try to lie, God kills a kitten, just remember that. Now, what's going on with you two? What were you talking about?"  
Eleanor turned to him, crossing her arms, and said, "Yes, Theodore, why don't you tell Alvin what we were talking about?"  
Theodore sighed reluctantly and gave Eleanor his "I really don't like this idea" face that I've only seen about a billion, thousand million times.  
She pursed her lips at him, then announced, "Well, I'm going to go and try something on. When I come back, I expect for you to have gotten it over with, Theodore."  
With that, she smacked his butt and strutted away.  
I leaned on a rack of jeans and said, "DAMMMMNNNN... she has got you in check!"  
He blushed and frowned. "I'm going to ignore that comment." I chuckled, and shook my head. After a slight pause, he said quietly and reluctantly, "Alvin, there's something I need to talk to you about..."  
I nodded. "I figured."  
Theodore bit his lip, then said, "Look, Alvin... It's... I mean, I understand that you... um..." he paused and scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. He sighed, then shut his eyes and said very quickly, like it was all one word, "'tbut-"  
"Whoa whoa whoa," I interrupted. "Am I cheating on Brittany?"

-Theodore-  
I nodded, and bit my lip.  
He paused. "Me?" he laughed, and said, "Of course not."  
"But... what about Sophi?" I asked, and could right away tell I hit a nerve. He looked away and scowled at the mention of her name.  
"Sophi," he said, "doesn't matter."  
He started to walk away.  
I followed him. "Alvin? Alvin. Alvin! Alvin, what do you mean, she 'doesn't matter'?"  
"Theodore," he said, turning around and scowling at me, "...leave me alone, okay?"  
"Alvin, what happened?"  
"Theodore, i told you to leave me alone."  
"Alvin-"  
"I SAID, LEAVE ME ALONE!" he yelled.

-Alvin-  
Theodore winced. I immediately felt bad. He started to turn away, and I shook my head and said, "Theodore..."  
But right then, there was a lot of movement in the corner of my eye. I turned to look, and Brittany was bookin' it out of the store, looking very upset. i walked to the entrance to the store, shocked, as she ran all the way down the hall, pushing people over on her way.  
"Brittany!" I yelled. "What the hell...?" I muttered.  
Suddenly, I felt someone hug me around the shoulders from behind, and heard avery familiar voice say, "Alvin!"  
I looked over my shoulder, shocked, and came face to face with Sophi.

-Brittany-  
I only glanced over my shoulder once, and it was just in time to see Sophi wrap her arms around him and give him a kiss on the cheek.  
The tears came faster then, and I looked away and roughly pushed through a group of cheerleaders with bows in their ponytails, still running. i wasn't sure where I was going, but it didn't matter anyway. Just so long as i was very, very far away from him.

-Alvin-  
Sophi gave me a kiss on the cheek and I wrenched her arms off of me. "Get off, Sophi. What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in Cancun? Not that I care."  
She gave me a disapproving look. "Oh, you're still mad. Look, I tried to call you, but-"  
"Did you think maybe I didn't want to talk to you, Sophi? Did you think for one second that maybe I didn't want to hear your bullshit excuses?" she looked suprised. "Look. I've got more important things to deal with right now, so just leave me alone, okay?"  
With that, I went after Brittany.


	11. Chapter 11

-Jeanette-  
I looked across the table at Simon, who was quietly sipping his coffee. When I looked over, he must ahve been already looking at me, for our eyes met for a brief second before I flushed and looked away, suddenly very interested in my beat-up Sparries. I smoothed out my very wrinkly blue-white-and-purple skirt several times, almost obsessively (like Michelle, who I've noticed has a habit of obsessively smoothing her skirt/jeans/khakis when she's nervous or excited. Or perhaps it's because she's a little nutty about having wrinkles in her clothing, I don't know), then straightened my collar and brushed some frizzy brown hair out of my face. I took off my glasses, breathed on the lenses, cleaned them off, then did it again. All just to avoid Simon's eyes. When I was done with all of that, I went to pick up my coffee by the lid. My fingers slipped and I dropped it on the ground. Coffee went everywhere, and i let out a little shriek. People nearby stared. I could feel my face burn as Simon quietly chuckled, trying to cover it by putting his hand over his mouth.  
"Simon, this isn't funny!" I exclaimed as i wiped off the coffee trickling down my leg.  
He rose his eyebrows, trying to supress a grin and failing epically, replying, "I'm not laughing."  
"Oh, yes you are, shut up..."  
Me and Simon reached for the cup at the same time, and our hands landed on it within seconds of each other, me first, then Simon.  
I glanced up at him, and my face must have gone firetruck red. He quickly pulled his hand away, muttering, "Sorry."

-Simon-  
I sat up as fast as possible, muttering a quick apology. She picked up the cup and tossed it in the general direction of a nearby trash can. She, of course, missed, and a bit more coffee trickled out of the cup.  
She sighed, still blushing rosily, and put her hands over her face, saying quietly, "Oh, god. I can't do anything right."  
I did my very best to supress a grin and replied, patting her on the arm, "Jeanette, please. That's bullshit and you know it."  
"I'm clumsy. I'm so stupid and clumsy. It's embarrassing. I'm so clumsy," she said, her voice still muffled by her hands. "God, I hate it so much. I'm so terribly, awfully clumsy."  
"So? It's cute," I blurted.  
Oh no. I did not just say that.

-Jeanette-  
... Did he just say I was cute?

-Simon-  
She looked at me between her fingers.  
We were totally silent.  
I thought i was going to fall over and die.  
I cleared my throat and opened my mouth to explain, but right then Alvin ran up to our table, panting. He grabbed me by the shoulders, shaking me a little, and asked in a frantic voice, "Have you seen Brittany?"  
At this point i could hardly process words. "What?"  
"BRITTANY, SIMON. HAVE YOU SEEN BRITTANY." I think it was intended to be a question, but the way he shouted it made it sound like more of a declarative sentence. He shook me so hard my glasses almost fell off.  
"Uhhhhhh...no...?" i replied.  
Alvin cursed and turned to Jeanette. "Jeanette. Have you seen- aw, shit, forget it, you don't know what's going on half the time anyway..."  
With that, he ran off.  
I watched him go, and muttered, "What the heck was that about?"  
Jeanette shrugged. "i don't know. Wanna go find out?"  
I shook my head. "Not really. We'll find out eventually anyway."

-Eleanor-  
"She WHAT?" I exclaimed, dropping the ill-fitting shirt on the ground at Theodore's feet. We were still in the store. He had just filled me in on what had gone down while i had been in the dressing room.  
His eyes were wide. "I-I don't know," he replied, picking up the shirt and putting it on a rack nearby. "She was here and then she was running out of the store... Alvin went after her- and speaking of Alvin, i think we're making a hu-"  
"I've gotta find her!" I interrupted. "I bet she found out about him cheating on her! Oh gosh, I bet she's flipping out!" I started toward the exit.  
Theodore grabbed my arm. "Ellie, NO. I really need to tell you something about Alvin. It's just... I really think we're making a hu-"  
"Theodore. I've got to go!" I interrupted again, agrivated now by his random acts of persistence. I yanked my arm out of his grip, and ran out of the store as quickly as possible.

-Theodore-  
I completed my sentence quietly as I watched Eleanor go:  
"... a huge mistake..."

-Eleanor-  
I ran all over the mall, looking in every store I passed. I was sure I was never going to find her in this maze of a mall until I spotted a blur of auburn hair and a pink shirt going out of the doors. I ran as quickly as possible after her, slamming the doors open. i watched as she sat down on the sidewalk, rubbing her eyes. She looked like she had been crying. I walked over and sat down next to her.  
"Britt..." I said quietly, touching her arm. She looked over at me, and i could see she was gritting her teeth. We were silent. She looked back at the road. "Brit, what are you doing?"  
"Waiting for Dave," she replied, looking at me again, her expression a bit softer this time. "I called him. We're going home."  
"Why?" I asked, even though I already knew.  
"I don't want to talk about it," she replied, looking away and pouting again.  
"Did you and Alvin get in a fight?"  
"Something like that," she answered, still avoiding my eyes.  
I pursed my lips. "Mmm-hmm. Really though."  
"Really though," she mimicked my (somewhat higher than hers) voice. I stuck my toungue out at her. She returned to her normal voice and repeated, "Something like that." we were quiet while I gave her a doubtful look. She turned her head away, nose in the air. Suddenly, she said, "You may want to text the others and tell them we're leaving."  
I nodded, and pulled out my bright green Rumor. I texted a message and sent it to the other four. It said:

Apprntly Brit's made the executive decision that we're goin home. Come outside and wait for Dave w/ us.

I slid the phone shut, and looked over at Brittany. "Brit, you know you're going to have to talk to me about this eventually, right?"  
She just kept looking straight ahead.  
My phone vibrated. It was a text from Theodore. As soon as I went to open it, I got another, from Alvin. I opened Alvin's text instead, figuring Theodore probably just said "K" or something really short like that. Alvin's text said:

WHY? Wht hppnd neway? Ask her! WTF IS GOIN ONNNNNNNNNN?

I chuckled at Alvin's awful texting and replied:

Idk, she wont tell. Altho I bet you know EXACTLY whats up w/ her, you douche

I sent it and slid my phone shut, just in time for it to vibrate again. This time it was Simon. He said:

Okay, Jeanette and I will be there in just a minute. Unfortunately we are on the wrong side of the mall.

I slid the phone shut and looked over at Brit, who was looking around the parking lot very quietly. She looked tired. I patted her back quietly.  
Suddenly, we heard a voice behind us. it was Alvin. "Brit, what happened?" he asked, plopping down next to her.  
"Don't. Talk to me." she replied, breaking up the words as if they were two seperate sentences.  
"She's mad," I informed him.  
"No shit," they said at the exact same time. They glanced at each other, and Brittany quickly looked away and fixated her gaze on something straight ahead and far away.  
Alvin sighed, played with his phone absentmindedly.  
Theodore came out of the mall, and sat next to me with a loud "Ugh". He grimaced and rubbed his butt.  
"Didja sit down too hard, Theo?" I asked, chuckling.  
He nodded. "Freaking concrete..."  
I laughed, and leaned on his shoulder. He put his arm around me and kissed me on the nose.

-Brittany-  
Next thing we know, Eleanor and Theodore are kissing right there on the sidewalk.  
"Yep, that's okay, guys. Becuase everyone in the whole fuh-reaking world realllly wants to see that," Simon commented as he walked out of hte mall, Jeanette close behind.  
They appeared not to hear him.  
Finally, Dave arrived. Alvin and I stood up, but Theodore and Eleanor were obviously not paying attention. Dave honked the horn and Theodore jumped, startled. Eleanor's hand flew to her mouth. "Ouch!" She said in a muffled voice.  
"Are you okay?" Theodore asked, leaning in.  
"Yeah, I'm fine. Your tooth hit mine when you jerked away like a spaz," she said jokingly, getting up and climbing into the car.  
She sat in the back, and Theodore sat next to her. i glanced at Alvin, who I could tell was wondering if I was going to sit with him- which I wasn't. I climbed into the back, making Theodore sit in the middle, and sat by the window. Alvin frowned, but looked over at Dave and asked something, which i assume was if he could sit in the front, because Dave replied:  
"If you're not going to jack around and distract me."  
Alvin whooped and ran around the car to sit in the front. I swear, Alvin is fourteen, but still acts about eight.  
The car ride back to the house was long and rather boring, for me anyway. I pulled out my iPod and listened to some loud, hardcore music (which, in this case, was Fall Out Boy) while staring out the window.

-Alvin-  
The ride back was so much fun! "Livin On A Prayer" came on and God knows there is no way to listen to that song and NOT sing along loudly and yell "KEY CHANGE!" at the key change. Me and Simon and Theodore and Eleanor and Jeanette were all like, "OHHHHH WE'RE HALFWAY THEH-ERE WOAH-OH! LI-IIVIN ON A PRAYY-YER!" while Brittany sat in the back and listened to her iPod.  
I don't know what's gotten into her lately, but I'm determined to find out, and when I find out, I will fix it.

-Eleanor-  
As soon as we arrived at the house, Brittany packed up her things and left without saying a word to anyone. She walked over to our house, opened the door, went in, and locked it behind her. Jeantte tried to go after her, but I stopped her. When Brit gets in one of these moods, it's not even worth it.  
We sat in the living room, watched "Glee" (only because me, Jeanette, and Theo insisted upon it), and played a couple rounds of Phase 10, and Theodore won several times. Alvin punched me in the arm because he knew I was feeding Theodore the cards he needed, helping him to kick Alvin's butt for once.  
I denied it, of course.  
The night ended when, during a game of Spoons gone wrong, Alvin knocked over a bookcase and got us all sent to bed.  
I laid on the couch and stared at the ceiling, unable to sleep. I looked over a Jeanette, who was reading "Sense and Sensibility" by the light of her phone.  
"Haven't you read that book already?" I whispered.  
She looked up, jumping. "I'm sorry, what?"  
"Shhh," I hushed her. "You'll wake up Dave. And I said, haven't you read that book already?"  
She nodded. "Yeah, but this is my copy. Simon gave it to me last Christmas, along with the complete Jane Austen collection," she said, her cheeks flushing a bit at the mention of Simon's name.  
I smiled, and looked over at her as she marked her place and hugged the book to her chest fondly. After a minute, I asked, "You really like him, don't you?"  
She nodded again, smiling. "Yes. Yes I do. Goodnight, Eleanor."  
With that, she turned over, still holding the book as she pulled her quilt up over her shoulders and slowly drifted off to sleep.

-Jeanette-  
I woke up the next morning to Simon ruffling my hair. I opened my eyes, and watched as he walked to the door and left, presumably for work. I smiled to myself and sat up, stretching.  
"Well look who's bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!" Eleanor commented as she walked into the room and leaned on the doorway, holding a cup of steaming coffee and a peice of bacon.  
I smiled. "Good morning, El."  
Theodore walked in, pinching Eleanor's butt as he walked by her. He sat on the couch, saying to me, "You missed breakfast. Sorry. I can make you, like, an omelet or something really quick if you want me to."  
"No, that's okay," I replied, shaking my head. "I'll just have coffee."  
I was on my way to the door when Alvin ran in, skidding on the hardwood floor in his socks, and shouted, "Everybody freeze!"  
Obeying, Theodore and I froze immediately. Eleanor lazily sipped her coffee and took a bite of the piece of bacon in her hand. She sighed and asked, "What do you want, Alvin?"  
Alvin grinned. "I know what we're going to do today."

-Theodore-  
Eleanor rolled her eyes and muttered, "Oh god. This is not good."  
Alvin bristled and said, "I'm going to ignore that, Eleanor." he paused for a moment, as if for effect, then continued, "Let's all walk to the pool. Tonight is Midsummer Night's Swim, did you know that?"  
I frowned. "Really? The pool people always put out the news the day of. It's so annoying."  
"I... don't know," Jeanette said, leaning on the side o fhte door frame opposite of Eleanor. "I was actually thinking about going down to the library to visit Simon and..."  
Eleanor snorted. "Really? Are you sure you want to do that? I mean, I love Simon, but not enough to go to the library and have to deal with the library girls."

-Jeanette-  
I had never visited Simon while he was at work. The prospect of talking to Simon while Michelle was around and not being sure what she was going to say was nerve-wracking and moire than enough to scare me away. But I had never thought about the other library girls.  
I was about to ask what she meant when Theodore nodded, and added, "Yeah. Michelle and company, not exactly the friendliest people in the world."  
Alvin nodded. "I mean, why would you even bother, Jen? Every girl in the place has a crush on him... Well, with the exception of Eileen..."  
"And Eileen's his ex, and we know he's still not really over her, so..." Theodore trailed off.  
Eleanor suddenly asked, "Okay, I never knew with those two: Who broke up with who?"  
At the exact same time, Alvin said, "She broke up with him" and Theodore said, "He broke up with her".  
Eleanor turned to me and looked at me expectantly.  
I shrugged. "I don't know."  
She sighed. "Whatever. The point is, we think it would be better for your mental health if you didn't go to the library."  
I frowned, and thought for a minute, then finally gave in and said, "... fine. I'll come with you guys then."

-Simon-  
I walked into the library, and spotted Eileen right off the bat. She was standing behind her desk, looking through a pile of papers. She looked as great as ever. I walked over, humming "Come On Eileen" quietly as I walked behind her desk to get to mine.  
"Simon Seville," she said, without looking away from her papers. "If you hum one more note of that song, I will disassemble Michelle's laptop, rebuild it as a machine gun, and shoot you in the skull."  
I chuckled. "I bet you will. Nice skirt."  
She smiled, but still didn't look away from the papers she was rifling through. "Thanks, Si."  
I walked over to my desk, still looking at Eileen over my shoulder. My attention was drawn elsewhere when I heard Michelle knock over a pile of books on a cart nearby. i turned around, and saw that Seth, her older brother, was sitting at her desk, eating a muffin and saying loudly:  
"Oh gosh, look at how this crumbly muffin is getting all over Michelle's half of the desk... oh... oh gosh... These goshdarn crumbs are just everywhere!"  
Michelle ran over to her desk, looking like she might explode. "Seth! Quit it! Move. Now."  
He got up, laughing, and walked off.  
She glared after him, and pulled out the wet-wipes she kept in her purse at all times. She started scrubbing furiously at her desk, muttering under her breath.  
I walked over and sat in my seat, which is next to hers. We share a desk. I sighed. "I'm sorry, Michelle."  
She looked up, suprised, then shook her head. "Oh, it's okay. I was just about to wipe it down anyway."  
Michelle has OCD. If you don't know, that stands for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. In her case, it means that she cleans everything and has a fear of messes, dirt and germs. She also is extremely organized, almost to a scary degree. She labels everything. EVERYTHING.  
"Do you want me to pick up those books for you?" I asked after a long pause, grinning.  
She nodded, without looking up from the one spot she had been scrubbing for six minutes.  
I walked over to the books she had knocked over when she had seen her brother making the mess, and kneeled, starting to put them up. When I thought I was done, I noticed one that had slid underneath the cart. I picked it up, and saw that it was "Sense and Sensibility", the sole copy in the library, the one Jeanette had read so many times before I had gotten her her own. I smiled fondly, and put it up.


	12. Chapter 12

-Eleanor-  
I put on my swimsuit, then looked in the mirror and sighed, pinching at the loose fat on my thighs. I turned around and looked at my butt. I clicked my toungue and shook my head, muttering, "It's amazing. I lose fifty pounds and I still have an ass like an elephant."  
Jeanette looked in the mirror next to mine, replying in a snappy voice, "At least you HAVE a butt, Eleanor. I have all of the shape of a ruler."  
I shook my head. "Don't complain about your skinny little body. I'll have to kill you."  
She crossed her arms and sighed, muttering, "Whatever."  
"Don't 'whatever' me. You look great," I said, patting her shoulder.  
Suddenly someone banged on the bathroom door and yelled, "I KNOW IT DOESN'T REALLY TAKE ANYONE THIS LONG TO PUT ON A SWIMSUIT!"  
I turned back to Jeanette and said, "Now we'd better get a move on before Alvin craps his pants."  
She laughed and nodded. We went out into the hall, where Alvin and Theodore were sitting. Alvin looked impatient. Theodore was eating the last bits of a cupcake and reading a magazine.  
"Finally!" Alvin exclaimed, throwing his hands up.  
Theodore looked up, swallowed and dropped his magazine, and his eyebrows shot up. "Wow, El. You look great."  
I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."  
"No really," he said, walking over and still looking at me. "You look amazing."

-Jeanette-  
Eleanor snapped two times in front of his face, then pointed to her head. "Theodore. My face is up here."  
He blushed, and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."  
Alvin clapped his hands. "So! Eleanor's kickin' body aside, let's move along, shall we?"  
We all went out the door together, then began walking down the street.  
"Should we try to get Brittany?" Alvin asked, looking like he was truly worried about her. I was too. I didn't even know why she was upset at that point.  
"Amazingly enough, in light of recent events I doubt she wants to go anywhere with you, Alvin," Eleanor replied in a suprisingly cold voice.  
"Recent events?" Alvin repeated. "I'm not aware of these 'recent events'."  
Eleanor glared at him, then stopped at the walk to our front door and said, "I'm going to go check on her."

-Brittany-  
I was sitting on the couch in my pajamas, watching "Moulin Rouge!" and thinking about what had happened.  
"You know," i said aloud to myself, "Maybe he's not cheating on me. Maybe she's just another crazed ex. She never really said she wasn't- of course, she never said she was, either..." I sighed, and ate a handful of popcorn before thinking, "Maybe this is all just a huge misunderstanding. What I need right now is clarification... I need evidence that he is cheating on me... or that he's not."  
As if on cue, the doorbell rang. I peeked through the window, and saw that it was Eleanor, wearing the new swimsuit we had gotten at the mall yesterday.  
I sighed, and got up. I walked to the door. I opened it, and let her in. As she walked in, I said, "I know I look awful, I hate even you seeing me like this, no makeup, messy hair, baggy pajamas-"  
"You're fine," she interrupted. "You look fine."

-Eleanor-  
THAT was a lie! She looked awful. If people saw Brittany without makeup and with her hair unbrushed, they would never ever see her the same. I think she knows that, which was why she went into that big ol' explanation.  
Brittany sighed, and went to sit down on the couch, pausing what she was watching. "I suppose you want to know what happened," she said quietly.  
I nodded, and sat down. I had to wait for her to say it. I couldn't break the news to her if all this were about something else.  
After a pause, she said in an even quieter, vulnerable-sounding voice, "This may come as a shock to you, Eleanor, because we're so great together, and I'm just so beautiful..." I tried to hold in a snicker. What a Brittany way to go about this. "...but... I think Alvin is cheating on me." I opened my mouth to reply, but she cut me off, saying, "But before you go and kick him in the balls, i want you to know that I'm not sure, it's just a suspicion. This could be just a huge misunderstanding, she could just be a crazed ex, and..." Brittany trailed off. You could tell these were the things she really wanted to believe. After a minute of quiet thinking, she looked at me. She analyzed my face, then asked, "Why don't you look shocked?"  
I sighed. Here's the hard part. I bit my lip, then said to her, "Brittany, I know. I've known."  
"What do you mean, you've known?" she asked, her voice suddenly sounding horrified and angry.  
"I mean, Brittany..." I paused. "I knew that he was cheating on you."  
Her mouth fell open. After a minute, she fumed and yelled, "I don't know who to be angrier at, Eleanor! Him, because it's true, or YOU, because YOU were never going to tell me! What the hell is that about?" I opened my mouth to explain, but she suddenly stood up and grabbed my arm, her manicured nails digging in and scratching me. She dragged me to the door, saying, "Get OUT."  
I yanked my arm away, "You can't tell me to get out, Brit, this is my house too. Now if you'll just-"  
"No! You don't live here anymore! You live over there!" she pointed in teh direction of the boys' house. "Now get OUT, and don't you EVER talk to me again!"  
And so Brittany Miller, my older sister, shoved me out of my own house and slammed my own front door in my face.

-Theodore-'  
The door slammed loudly, and we immediately stopped the conversation we were having and looked. Eleanor was standing on the porch. I walked over. "What happened?"  
She ignored me, and banged on the door, yelling, "Brittany, it's not what it sounds like! If you'd just listen to me, you'd see..." she trailed off.  
The door locked with a loud click.  
Eleanor turned to me, her face red. She looked like she might cry.  
"El..." I asked again, "What happened?"  
She just pulled me into a hug and buried her face into my t-shirt. I slowly hugged her back.

-Jeanette-  
Alvin looked over at me, and asked urgently, "What's going on?"  
"I don't have any clue," I replied. He started toward Theodore and Eleanor, but I stopped him. "Alvin, no. Give them a minute."  
He grimaced, but stayed put.

-Theodore-  
After a couple minutes of silent hugging, she pulled away and sniffled, avoiding eye contact with me.  
"What happened?" I asked for the thrid time.  
She shook her head, and replied quietly, "I'll tell you later, Theodore."  
I opened my mouth to protest and demand an explanation, but she looked so hurt that I changed my mind and shut my mouth.  
Eleanor walked back to the other two and I followed. Right away, Alvin started asking questions:  
"What happened? Is she okay? Is she mad at me? Is she mad at you? Is she mad? Is she sad? What's she doing? Is she coming back? Is she crying? Is she wearing makeup? What's wrong with her? Is she coming with us?"  
"Gee, Alvin, I don't know, she SLAMMED THE DOOR IN MY FACE, I'm not sure if she's COMING WITH US," Eleanor replied, her voice drenched in sarcasm.  
I looked over at Alvin, and said, before he could reply, "Alvin, don't bug her about it, okay?"

So we walked to the pool…


	13. Chapter 13

-Simon-  
I leaned back in my chair and sighed, pulling out my phone, which was vibrating wildly. It was Theodore. He said:

hey si ru goin 2 midsummer nite siwm?

Michelle looked at my phone over my shoulder and said, "You're not supposed to ha-"  
"Shut up Michelle, Simon can't help it if he's badass," Eileen interrupted, ruffling my hair as she walked by.  
"Michelle, can I just reply to this, please?" I asked, jokingly making a puppy face. She smiled a bit, but was otherwise unphased. I added, "It's my baby brother."  
She sighed and walked to her seat, saying grudgingly, "Fine, whatever, I'll let it slide this time."  
"Thanks, Michelle, you're beautiful," I said, texting him back.  
After I put away my phone, I looked up at Michelle, who was sitting in her chair and staring at me.  
"Are you okay?" I asked.  
She jumped, and looked away from me, turning back to her desk. "Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, just was thinking..."  
Right then Celia walked out of the employee lounge (yep, we have one of those), wearing a t-shirt and a skirt with a pair of tights and legwarmers, and below that, a shiny new pair of point shoes. She walked over to the printer and went off point and back on and back off as she waited for all of the papers to print.  
Me and Michelle just sort of sat there in silence for a minute and stared at her. She didn't notice us, just continued humming what sounded like "Bulletproof" by La Roux quietly to herself and going on and off her toes.  
Finally, Michelle took a sip of her latte and said in a very quiet voice, "Celia..." Celia looked up, suprised, saw us, and quickly blushed and looked at the ground. Michelle continued, "Is there a reason for this thouroughly strange attire?"  
"Well, you see, Michelle," she began in that very quiet, timid way of speaking that Celia has, "You see, these are new, and I just thought I might break them in, you know, before ballet camp..."  
"What happened to your old ones?" Eileen asked suddenly, seeming to appear out of nowhere on the other side of my desk. "They were in impecccable condition."  
"Uh," Celia blushed, and brushed a few strands of wavy auburn hair out of her eyes. "Uh, well, you see..." she cleared her throat, then said, as if she were afraid and embarrassed to talk about it, "Well, Sophi threw them in the river."

-Eleanor-  
"Simon says he thinks he will be going," Theodore said, sliding his phone shut and putting it away.  
Jeanette's face lit up. "Great!"  
"Oh my god, this is going to be so much fun!" Alvin said, hooking his arms around Jeanette and Theodore's shoulders.  
"Alvin?" Jeanette asked, ducking out of his embrace.  
"Yeah?"  
"What IS 'Midsummer Night's Swim', anyway?" Jeanette asked.  
Alvin's mouth fell open, and he shouted, "MY GOD, WOMAN. DO YOU LIVE UNDER A FREAKING ROCK?" Jeanette winced. Alvin is a little too intense for her at times. "Midsummer Night's Swim is only THE most amazing teen pool party EVER!" Jeanette looked unconvinced, so Alvin explained, with grand hand motions and overexagerrated facial expressions, "Every summer they hold a huge-frickin'-mongous pool party at the public pool that's open to everyone over fourteen and under eighteen, and they it Midsummer Night's Swim. Personally, I wouldn't have chosen such a cheesy name, but I don't own a pool, what do I know, right? It starts at seven and goes to one in the morning, and they play music and have lots of food-" he looked at Theodore on that one, "- and set up a kareoke machine and... well, you get the idea. And the party goes on and on and everyone always has a blast and sometimes there's even a beer or two, you never know."  
Jeanette smiled slowly. "Sounds... like a lot of dangerous, underage fun..."

-Simon-  
"She did WHAT now?" Eileen said, looking shocked and pissed off.  
Celia quickly said, "Oh, it's totally not a big deal. I needed a new pair anyway-"  
"I can't believe this! She's such a bitch!" Eileen threw her arms up, then put them back on her hips. "She only did that because she knows you're better than her."  
Celia sighed, and rolled her eyes. "Eileen, no I'm not."  
"Yes you are," all three of us said at the same time.  
Celia blushed and picked up the papers she needed, and shook her head. She made her way back to her desk, which she shared with Eileen. Eileen made an aggrivated noise before going back to her seat as well.  
I looked over at Michelle, who sighed, and said, "I hate it when they talk about Arts school girls I don't know."  
I nodded. "Me too. But I know this one. She's Alvin's most recent ex. Well, actually, that depends on how he's doing with Brit, which at the moment doesn't look so good." I paused, then turned back to the front door as it opened and shut and a mother and three kids walked in. "Sophi's kind of a bitch," I added in a quieter voice.  
Michelle rolled her eyes and responded in a whisper, "Just Alvin's type, huh?"  
I snickered. "Exactly."

-Alvin-  
We arrived at the pool. When we walked in and paid, I immediately headed for the diving board. I stopped when I saw that Jeanette was making her way to an empty chair and pulling a book out of her bag.  
"No, Jeanette," I said. " You're gonna swim."  
She sighed and rolled her eyes, but reluctantly put the book back into the bag, then went downt he stairs into the shallow end. "Happy, Alvin?" she asked.  
I nodded. "Yes."  
Then I walked to the diving board, where Eleanor already was.

-Theodore-  
So, I'm not a very good swimmer. This would be the part where you ask, "Theodore, then what the hell are you doing in line at the diving board?" And my response would be, "My stupid girlfriend made me."  
"Eleanor, this is a bad idea in about a million different ways," I said, watching the guy three people in front of us in line do a spectacular series of flips before hitting the water. "I'm going to either break the board or jump and plummet to my death."  
"Theodore, that's ridiculous. A), guys way bigger than you have gone off that diving board, and B), you're not going to plummet to your death. All you have to do is swim straight up and then directly to your left as quickly as possible. And I'm here, and Alvin is here, and the lifeguard is here. And all three of us are great swimmers, and none of us are about to let you drown."  
Alvin got in line behind me and said, "Whoa! That can't be Theodore Seville in the line for the diving board!" he lightly punched me on the shoulder and said, "Way to be a man, Theodore."  
I whimpered, mainly because at that point that was just about the only noise I could make.  
It was Eleanor's turn, and she gave me a kiss on the cheek before climbing onto the diving board, and as she walked, I noticed that her butt looked great in that swimsuit, not that I was looking or anything. She jumped off and i swear I had a mini heart attack. She did an absolutely perfect dive, and the however-many-seconds that she was under before her head popped up felt more like three hours to me. She swam to the wall, and sat there, looking up at me with a big grin. I weakly smiled back, and felt like my breakfast was about to reintroduce itself to the outside world.  
Alvin, who I had totally forgotten was behind me, smacked my butt and yelled, "Go get 'em, tiger!"  
Thanks, Alvin. Thanks a lot.  
Eleanor laughed, and gave Alvin a thumbs up.  
I climbed onto the board, and walked slowly out, the turquoise plank being the focus of my attention for the first few steps. i reached the end, looked down at the water, thought i might puke, and started to turn back. When I turned around, Alvin was standing at the end of the board, blocking my way back. He simply shook his head no. I sighed shakily, and turned back to the pool. I looked down at Eleanor, who smiled brightly up at me.  
Finally, I held my nose and jumped.

-Alvin-  
I threw my arms up and cheered as Theodore jumped and landed in the water, making a big splash (what can I say, Theodore's a chubby fella), and then came back up a couple seconds later and somehow managed to swim to Eleanor.

-Eleanor-  
Theodore grabbed onto the edge next to me, and turned to face the pool, his eyes still huge. He was panting.  
"Hey," I said, squeezing his hand. "I could tell you were really scared up there. Thanks for trusting me."  
He grinned. "Thanks for making me do it." He lightly kissed me on the nose and then turned back to the pool, saying simply, "And now I'm never doing it again."  
I giggled, shook my head, and looked up as Alvin ran all the way down the diving board, bounced twice, then flew in the air and flipped before splashing into the water.  
"So you're saying you have no ambition to be able to do that?" I asked, motioning to where Alvin had landed.  
"Nope. None," he replied.  
Alvin's head came out of the water next to Theodore, and he cheered loudly before patting Theodore on the shoulder and saying, "I'm proud of you."  
I smiled. This was the part of Alvin a lot of people didn't see. Alvin may be obnoxious and loud and selfish, but he's also a really great big brother and he loves Theodore and Simon very much.  
"Yeah, I bet you are, but I'm not doing it again," Theodore replied.  
Alvin rose his eyebrows and said, "Well, I wouldn't be too sure about that." Then he climbed out of the pool and ran to get back in line.


End file.
